Like many things that people might not otherwise give a second look, Dante's Inferno grabbed my attention because of protesters at E3. Now, I'm still not firmly convinced that they weren't plants by EA for exactly that reason, but the protest did in fact grab my attention and has held it long enough for me to say, "Hey, I really should play Dante's Inferno." So, if they weren't EA plants they really should consider applying for a marketing position. On a side note, the flyer that the protesters were giving out gave their "home base" as Portland, OR. The city of "weird" and my current home location. Given that, it could go either way. They could in fact have been real life protesters OR they could have been EA plants under the guise of coming from Portland, OR because it's just so damn believable you'd get such raging stupidity for a protest from here. I actually didn't discover this until I got home from E3 and was going through all my swag about a week later. It was like finding $20 bucks tucked in a pair of jeans; pure joy.
You can see that the protesters were a much better and cooler display than the actual EA display inside E3. Sure, big screens are cool but they certainly aren't as cool as old ladies holding signs claiming EA is the antichrist.
If you watched the Superbowl or looked online at any of the Superbowl commercials then you might have caught EA's ad for this game. If not, let me help you out:
I have to say that when I first heard that there was going to be a Dante's Inferno Superbowl ad, I was pretty excited. After all, they've done an amazing job at the marketing for this: a Facebook game where you could send people to hell, the book tie in and the (ahem) protesters. So, the ad for the Superbowl was going to be pretty over the top right? WRONG...
Seriously, EA...what were you thinking? This is one of the worst ads for a game- ever. Did it even cost you anything to make? Did you give your marketers the day off or were they off grabbing a double shot, skinny, no whip frap and you let your lawyers take a stab at making a commercial? Seriously, it's that dry. I believe the game already has set a precedent for over the top marketing and tie-ins and the best they could come up with is game play and a overlaid song... whoever thought of that commercial should go to hell...seriously.
Now. I found this little gem on Youtube. Don't watch if you're easily offended. It's says it was a banned EA commercial. I don't know the truth to it. IF it was...kudos to EA. That is the sort of over the top marketing I'd come to expect with this game. IF it wasn't, then EA seriously should have thought about putting this commercial on during the Superbowl. Seriously, I can't stop laughing. If I believed in hell, I'd probably go to there for this one.
One other side note: I haven't bought the game yet but probably will at some point. Honestly, it looks like another "save the princess" game using the same rehashed game play style as God of War and Darksiders. But hey, like I said, the hype around the game got me interested... however EA, you ALMOST lost me with the Superbowl ad.
(in case the above isn't showing correctly, here's the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f14ydqOn9eo)
I'll forgive you...this time.
(Thanks to Undercover Geek Girl for feeding the idea for this topic to me)
