Diablo 4’s marketing campaign is somehow even more unhinged than mobile ads

The sky turned orange on June 6. Smoke from the Canadian wildfires moved south and cast a pale orange hue over the northeastern states of the United States. New York City seemed supernatural and post-apocalyptic, its residents breathing dangerous air. Orange smoke obscured the skyscrapers and towers, with only Times Square’s glowing screens lighting up the city streets.

As one billboard eloquently said, “Welcome to Hell, New York.”

This is an advertisement that is both timely and coincidental. activism blizzard diablo 4 was officially released the day before. A small building as tall as Lilith looms over the people of New York, their eyes burning with smoke. Someone jokes on Twitter: diablo 4The marketing team of has gone a long way.

Of course, Activision Blizzard didn’t light a Canadian forest fire to create the huge amount of smoke that was sent south by the wind. But the disastrous season seems to highlight the strangeness and audacity of the Scattershot marketing campaign, headed by Activision Blizzard, which unfolds even as video game marketing stunts become more and more audacious.

The only threads that seem to tie this campaign together are virginity and shock value – the type of marketing you see more easily in the mobile game realm. Of course, that doesn’t mean this kind of marketing is unheard of in console and PC gaming, but it’s ubiquitous in the mobile space: dramatic stories that have little bearing on actual gameplay (sometimes with celebrity endorsements), big mass market ads that are shown outside of gameplay that are not actually in the game, and marketing calculated to go viral. Diablo 4′Key marketing embodies the ethos of mobile game advertising, whether it is intended or not.

Activision Blizzard hit basically every kind of marketing activity ever seen for a video game — and then some more — in an effort to “be part of the conversation in places you wouldn’t normally see a video game or Diablo,” According diablo 4 General Manager Rod Ferguson.

celebrity endorsements? Check out, Megan Fox and Chloë Grace Moretz are featured in both commercials. Fox appeared in a series of well-intentioned tweets and videos mocking those who are bad diablo 4, and is also calling out some big name streamers. Moretz appeared in one video diablo 4 character too. These characteristics are not so unusual if you think about Fox’s work and aesthetic – Jennifer’s Body, Any? (Fox’s ad campaign isn’t everyone’s favorite, though, with some suggesting it’s setting Game Marketing a few decades back. For others, Fox is the mom, and perfectly suited for the role.) Meanwhile, Moretz, on his part, has mentioned in interviews that he likes video games.

Celebrity marketing is nothing new, but recent mobile game ads have ushered in an era of big-name or unexpected celebrity cameos. Pedro Pascal, just before the success of last of usappeared in commercials for Marj Haveli, An unhealthy mobile game. In 2022, the mobile game Royal Match ran an ad featuring Rick Hoffman (Suit) appears to be derived from Cameo, an app that allows fans to pay celebrities to say a particular line. But it’s also increasingly trending for big titles: League of Legends An ad prior to the unveiling of the new anthem touted Lil Nas X as Riot Games’ “new CEO”. diablo 4 Got a song too; Halsey sings it.

Activision Blizzard also held a launch party at a Los Angeles church; Author and gaming expert Danny Peña told Play Gamez that the party ended with Lilith flying off the roof, skin cape and more, before Jade appeared to DJ. “That’s when you know a company has a big budget,” Peña said. “Hollywood is really getting into the game industry.” That said, it’s probably about expanding the Diablo franchise to new people. This publicity stunt is, again, an echo of a similar campaign. Marj Haveli Recently pulled. In March, the developers invited influencers to a themed, real-life scavenger hunt held at the Paramore Estate in Los Angeles.

But the matter did not stop here. Questionable food product? got it. Fast Food Activation? Yes. Activision Blizzard hired marketing company B-Reel to create and distribute vegetarian smoothies that looked like mixed meat. It also partnered with KFC to give diablo 4 Eyes and tied up with Burger King to reward players who could bring back five Spicy Double Cheeseburgers. There’s even a dangerous hot sauce featured in First We Feast hot ones, Many of these movements sound like a dare or a threat, but make sense: Lilith wears a literal skin cape, so Meat Shake’s gut isn’t so surprising. We’ve come to expect food campaigns as a marketing tactic for video games and many other things — McDonald’s is famous for its tie-in toys — but those campaigns are usually a little more yummy or cute.

Ferguson told Play Gamez that these types of food collaborations are popular on TikTok — though Play Gamez observed that TikToks about Meat Shake mostly came from smaller accounts, or were paid partnerships that didn’t go far enough. On behalf of KFC, it was appropriate to engage as a company has its own gaming arm, diablo 4noted Marketing VP Caleb Ruel.

The company behind Gross Beverage is fully committed to Bit. When asked for the recipe, B-Reel joked that it was monster meat mixed in a cup. “We landed on a drink whose base was slurry brain, covered with some sweet, savory, red, black, and white demon juice, and topped with a layer of smoky see-through skin to keep it all in place.” was on,” B-Reel creative team Jack MacDonald, Afshin Moini and Christian Popeius told Play Gamez via email. He did not provide any real recipes, which proved to be as impenetrable as the gates of hell.

And then there are the seemingly unrelated, and duly unrelated, brand partnerships. Then there is the devilish chocolate shop. How about a huge mural on the ceiling of a cathedral? A fun choice for a game that played on diabolical terror, and entertaining after Activision Blizzard has already gone the more traditional route of putting up prominent billboards in New York City. A trailer directed by an award winning filmmaker? eternal’ Chloe Zhao is on the ship.

The more important question is: what was not Do Activision Blizzard? It is possible that the company spent millions of dollars in the creation of these campaigns. (Blizzard declined to share marketing budget.) diablo 4, but said it was “in line with the game’s aspirations.”) It’s hard to imagine how any of these fit together, or who would actually want to drink a “meat”-shake (or is it food?). . But it seems that this is not the most important part of any campaign. According to the marketing professionals Play Gamez spoke to, the campaign’s issue may simply be its sheer scope.

Photo: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Zeitgeist

“The launch marketing is definitely a case of ‘more is more’, as now that the game has proven to be a worthy addition to the 26-year-old franchise, they have the opportunity to really go big and appeal to a much wider audience.” The audience, many of whom may have never played a Diablo game or even an RPG dungeon-crawler of this type, told Game Marketer’s CEO Philip Driver via email. There was a need to get very big, and that could only happen by gaining huge momentum in the market.”

Activision Blizzard is competing not only with other video games, but also with YouTube, TikTok, movies and television, Trevor Dudek, marketing CEO at Lemonade Agency, told Play Gamez. “We’re living in the attention economy,” Dudek said. “Every brand is at war for the same 24 hours, and it’s getting harder and harder to break through.”

According to Dudek, taking such a big step is an effort to reach out to as many people as possible. Dudek said, “It required a willingness to put together a lot of weird stuff and be like, ‘Okay, we’re going to do 20 things. ‘” “10 of them may have no relation to the others. Five of them may fail. But the five or six people who can get hold of are the really good performers. Not many brands are willing to take that risk.

It also makes sense to play on the sense of shock value inherent in the series. diablo 4 goes to places that are deeper than ever; There’s no cool vibe here, just shock and awe. And at least all of the ads are directly related to the video game and its themes, compared to mobile game ads, which often bear minimal resemblance to their source material.

It seems to have worked – if the fans are joking in a big way diablo 4 A billboard surrounded by a smoky orange sky is a sign. and Activision Blizzard – in another well-thought-out marketing move – published a news release sharing that diablo 4 The game sold $666 million globally in its first five days, making it “the best-selling debut in Blizzard history”.