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Hi Everyone,
It was about seven years ago that the Xbox launched to much critical acclaim. Halo: Combat Evolved was bundled with the console, giving anyone who bought an Xbox a free exclusive title with their new hardware. Microsoft likely had little knowledge that Halo would become such a phenomenon.
Halo was birthed from the developers of a PC cult classic, Marathon, and adapted from an RTS into a console-friendly FPS. Breaking new ground as a quality FPS in a classically PC-dominated genre, Halo 3 earned its stars and stripes by offering unrivaled online play through Xbox Live and in-depth gameplay. For me personally, however, the story has always sucked.
Although Halo 2 was a downer in most people's eyes, it still sold over 14 million copies. Now amidst all the hype during the launch of Halo 3, the final installment of the franchise, Toggle will take a look at the marketing, advertising and everything else that has made Halo 3 the most preordered game in video-game history. Luckily, my discs were unscathed out of the box. I hope you enjoy the issue—and the game, if you happened to have bought it at midnight like I did.
Thanks,
Clayton
The Halo 3 Legendary Edition Collector's Box
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About two weeks before Halo 3's release, McCann & Microsoft launched the "A Hero Must Rise. Believe" advertising campaign. At the campaign's core is the strategy of portraying the story, which apparently won this round of the ongoing story-versus-gameplay conflict.
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The creative goes beyond just telling the story—and notably, beyond the gameplay and the graphics—and deep into a minifigure replication of an iconic Halo 3 battle. Each handcrafted and individually painted model captures the visceral and emotional nature of warfare firsthand. The actual replica can be virtually navigated with video and historical detail at Halo 3's website and there is now word that the model will tour the U.S. in select cities.
The campaign gives people the experience of looking at central themes that are woven throughout the entire Halo trilogy: duty, sacrifice, and most importantly, heroism. Further expanding the minifigure replication, the advertising seeks to tell the story of Master Chief and many of the soldiers on the front line in a compelling interview/documentary format.
What differentiates this advertising from the competition's is the fact that Halo 3 boldly takes the communication out of the actual game and into live action. With the intention of humanizing soldiers in the game, the serious tone and realistic nature pushes the people's sensitivity to actual war. Rich in content, the result is compelling. It helps tell the story to the masses who don't know how epic and grandiose the Halo trilogy is. Had they not replicated in execution the "Mad World" spot for Gears of War, more credit could be given for originality. See the Halo 1 and 2 ads and note just how far they've come.
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Mad World Mash-Up TV Spot
Testimonial TV Spot
Museum TV Spot
A Hero Must Rise. Believe Press Release
Halo: Combat Evolved TV Spot
Halo 2 TV Spot
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Key partnerships for Halo 3 have helped build and drive momentum, from the first announcement of the game to the very launch of this year's most anticipated title. Here's a look at three joint ventures that have made an impact on generating buzz for the game. Don't worry, we won't get into the lame Halo 3-branded Pontiac.
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Game Fuel
In an effort to promote a new energy drink with the launch of Halo 3—obviously for gamers who need it for long binges of multiplayer bliss—Halo 3 and Mountain Dew developed Game Fuel. Special edition bottles and cans with Master Chief plastered across all the containers have been on shelves for weeks, while TV, point-of-sale and guerilla efforts helped get the beverage into the hands of gamers. I was lucky enough to sample Game Fuel last night as they bombarded the waiting lines for most midnight releases at Best Buys and Gamestops/EB Games in major DMAs.
The spot also effectively pushes the Xbox Live online multiplayer appeal to the game in a funny and relatable manner.
The Halo Shorts
Nobody is quite sure if these are salvaged cuts of the once-green-lighted Halo movie effort, or if these are simply just artistic interpretations of the iconic game. Regardless, episodic content (refer to Toggle Issue #2) is an effective way to deliver in-depth content allowing a conversation between your target audience and your brand. These shorts are a noninvasive, rich technique that is both engaging creatively and effective tactically as a media vehicle. Neil Blomkamp's opus, although not focused on a specific product, does wonders to reinforce the brand as a contemporary entertainment icon.
Video Game Weapons Are Real?!
So realistic are the graphics and gameplay of next-gen games that actual military weapons may be modeled after those in video games, or so claims the Discovery Channel in their "Future Weapons" series. The momentum and popularity of Halo has gotten so large that the Discovery Channel has leveraged their partnership to help promote their show.
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Mountain Dew Halo TV Spot
Arms Race Short #1
Warthog Short #2
Discovery Channel "Future Weapons" TV Spot
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From a Fan's perspective, people closer to Halo than we think, and finally from the opposition.
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Next-Gen Oragami
Fan art takes form in the shape of paper models. Print these two PDFs on a color printer and you'll have your own paper Master Chief. Not as cool as the McFarlane line of toys, but use the money you save to buy the game instead of the toy.
Deviant Art Page
McFarlane Limited Edition Figurines
Great Gas Mileage, Ammo Not Included
This Warthog is real and seems to run exactly like its digital counterparts—if you look closely you can see that the rear wheels turn as well. This may be a prototype taken from the Halo shorts, but nonetheless, these guys are going to have one hell of a joyride if they can actually use the machine gun turret.
A Real Life Warthog
Sony Still Has a Brand
A very "objective" look at the console wars. Sony Defense Force, likely a fan-created group, has recut the "Museum" spot to reveal a more "truthful" reality of what Sony has in store for 2008.
"Museum" Re-Cut Spoof
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Paper Master Chief
Warthog 2007
The Console Battle Wages On
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