The latest 60 second spot (shown after the stills in this post) for Activision's soon to be released Call of Duty: Black Ops
video game, conceived of by TBWA Chiat Day and directed by Rupert Sanders, makes even me want to pick up a gun - or at least a game controller - and I'm about as far as one gets from a war monger.
Despite your stance on war or video games, one cannot deny the visceral appeal of this commercial. Set to the Rolling Stone's Vietnam-era classic Gimme Shelter, the gamers (a variety which includes, amongst many, a medical technician, a scientist, an electronics store clerk, a hotel concierge, a businessman, Kobe Bryant, Jimmy Kimmel and not one, but three women - even a Birkenstock wearing Granola) find themselves so immersed in the experience, they appear engaged in real life combat. To present a video game as so life-like that the players appear in the virtual world may not be a new concept or idea, but in this case, it is beautifully executed.
The everyday folk - and avid gamer celebs Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel who make appearances in the spot - are adeptly brandishing weapons while donning their civilian garb (love the Chanel shoulder bag), amongst the thunder of helicopters and flying shrapnel.
above: Video game fans Jimmy Kimmel and Kobe Bryant make appearances in the spot.
There's only one word of dialogue uttered in the whole script... when the hotel concierge, Vic, stops to answer his phone and identify himself while in the midst of combat.
And the final shot of a fast food cook with guns a-blazin' is the Creme de la Combat.
God damn, they were right when they said "There's A Soldier In All Of Us" and I didn't even know it. Now where's my Bazooka?
There’s a Soldier in All of Us (:60)
Call of Duty: Black Ops is a first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision, scheduled for release on November 9, 2010. The game is the seventh installment of the Call of Duty series since the original game published in 2003, and the third game in the series to be developed by Treyarch.
Pre-order/Buy Call of Duty: Black Ops
Activision is an American video game developer and publisher, with well known titles such as the Tony Hawk series, and the Guitar Hero franchise.
CREDITS
Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day, Los Angeles
Chief Creative Officer: Rob Schwartz
Group Creative Director: Brett Craig
Associate Creative Director: Blake Kidder
Associate Creative Director: Patrick Almaguer
Creative Director:
Head of Production: Richard O’Neill
Executive Producer: Anh-Thu Le
Producer: Stanton Hill
Art Director: Chase Madrid
Copywriter: Chris DeNinno
Group Account Director: Stan Fiorito
Account Director:
Account Supervisor: Paul Sears
Assistant Account Executive: Rohit Bal
Group Planning Director: Oke Mueller
Sr. Planner: Natalie Puccio
Director of Business Affairs: Linda Daubson
Business Affairs Manager: Jill Durand
Senior Broadcast Traffic: Jerry Neill
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Rupert Sanders
Executive Producer: David Zander
Executive Producer: Eric Stern
Producer: Laurie Boccaccio
Director of Photography: Greig Fraser
Production Designer: Dominic Watkins
Costume Designer: Nancy Steiner
Editor: Neil Smith
Post Production Producer: Carolina Wallace
Visual Effects: Asylum
Visual Effects Executive Producer: Michael Pardee
Visual Effects Post Producer: Ryan Meredith
Visual Effects: Asylum
Visual Effects Supervisor/ Lead Compositor: Jason Hicks
Executive Producer: Michael Pardee
Producer: Ryan Meredith