Tag: PAX

Viral Videos at Your Service

Posted on by Drew Neisser

It might be a stretch to call blatantly un-PC videos Marketing as Service but considering the target, I’m prepared to do just that. The videos, which can be completely customized at Enlist4hell.com, are meant to provide entertainment for grown-up gamers, particularly the ones that feast upon WW11 action video games. The service, if you will, is the ability to “ream out your buddy” in an anything but subtle manner.

It’s all in good fun unless you don’t think this kind of thing is fun in which case you’re definitely not in the target. If you are game and over 18, have some fun and make your own or at least watch the relatively tame video I created that stars Pinky (the French bulldog) by clicking here.


The marketer behind this service is Ubisoft, whose Brother in Arms: Hell’s Highway video game is one of the most anticipated games in its genre this year. Here’s what they say about it on Wikipedia:

Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway is the third entry in the Brothers in Arms series of video games which follow a squad of men, of the 101st Airborne Division (502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment) led by the player-character Matt Baker. This game once again puts players in the role of Staff-Sergeant Matt Baker during Operation Market Garden in the later stages of WWII.

The game will be released on Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 3 on September 23, 2008.

Becky Ebenkamp has a nice write-up on the whole guerrilla/viral program on BRANDWEEK’s EX Files blog.

Generating Buzz with Buzz Cuts

Posted on by Drew Neisser

This must be self-serving week since I’m about to share another example of Marketing as Service as executed by Renegade. I’d be embarrassed except for the fact that this is a highly effective program and the services provided are outrageously target-appropriate. The client in this case is Ubisoft, who asked us to generate excitement about the upcoming release of their WWII action video game, Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway.

We kicked things off last weekend at a video gaming convention in Seattle called PAX where we set up a WWII vintage “recruiting station.” Volunteers could get their choice of a HELL CUT, a military style buzz-cut with the word HELL emblazoned on the back of their head, or a stylish air-brushed tattoo (about 550 opted for the tats).

In exchange for a free copy of the game, over 150 ‘recruits’ volunteered for a HELL CUT including several members of the media. One reporter from Game Spot, a leading industry site, featured his HELL CUT experience as the lead story in this video:

Happily for our client, the Recruiting Station was the hit of the show. The line for HELL CUTS extended outside the convention hall and was at times three hours long. Another 450 recruits received their vintage Hells Highway tattoos (see photo below.)Tattoos at PAX

The services provided, buzz cuts and tattoos, may seem unappealing to you, but our gamer target though it was “the most unusual booth at PAX this year” covering the Hell’s Highway Recruiting Station extensivly on blog after blog: GameVortex, PSXGames, Kotaku, The Exploding Barrel, ThePlatformnation, GameSpot, N4G, Boards.1up, Sarcastic Gamer, Gamertell, NerdFellowship, GameTrailer, YouTube, ArsTechnica and more.

Bottom line–want some buzz, try giving away a buzz cut. Its a service that cuts through putting in this case, Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway at the head of the class.

There’s a second act to this guerrilla/viral program but I’ll write about that separately. If you want to discover it for yourself, visit: enlist4hell.com.