https://www.cybersport.ru/games/articles/netolerantnaya-neumestnaya-nezabyvaemaya-bezumnaya-reklama-videoigr-iz-proshlogo

Sex sells

Sex sells is an immutable truth. I have never attended courses for advertisers, but I am almost sure that this postulate is taught in the first lesson. Look around you: slender, half-naked guys and girls advertise everything from milk to mortgages.

Of course, the gaming industry did not stand aside. At the same time, it is especially interesting that advertising for interactive entertainment at the end of the last century was distinguished not so much by an abundance of sultry beauties, as by a humorous context on the verge.

Don’t get me wrong, underwear models have been, are, and seem to always be an integral part of publishers’ marketing campaigns. However, a simple demonstration of the body was apparently not enough for a jaded audience. Therefore, PR people tried to insert various jokes with a double meaning as often as possible. For example, they probably would not have bypassed the word “insert” from the previous sentence.

At the same time, despite the unbridled striving for originality, there were only three main themes for jokes: “our games are better than sex”, “our games are like masturbation” and “we will do anything to add a phallic metaphor to the slogan.”

Insults don’t sell

Have you ever heard of such a seduction technique, when a person simultaneously compliments and at the same time manages to humiliate? Something like: “You look so charming, the extra five kilos even suit you.” They say this allegedly lowers the self-esteem of the interlocutor and makes him more accommodating. I don’t know if it works for dating, but marketing campaigns that tried to offend potential buyers have not been particularly successful.

Ah, console wars, they never change. It’s always fun to watch fans of different platforms measure teraflops on the forums. But when a more or less official representative of one of the parties starts to get into a fight, you immediately realize that nothing good will come of it. Take, for example, GPU maker 3dfx Interactive, which essentially called all console gamers virgins (which is now a terrible insult, according to Twitch’s new policy). Not only is it not very good for public relations, but it also offends potential buyers.

And here is another valiant warrior. Admittedly, the console division of SEGA has sunk into oblivion, and only a few know that NEC once did something in the gaming market. But few more people remember Neo-Geo. But this is a charming combo with the theme we have already considered “we will go to great lengths to add a phallic metaphor to the slogan.”

However, the flirting of 3dfx and Neo-Geo with customers is still a flower compared to the marketing campaign of the shooter Daikatana. Such phrases are inappropriate even in some strong and ready-to-experiment married couples, and it was very thoughtless to address a wide audience in this way. Over the years, John Romero acknowledged that this aggressive poster had a negative impact on both Daikatana (which, in fact, is not even mentioned on it) and his career.

Romero aimed at everyone with his lunge, but Sony for a decade PlayStation resorted to almost surgical precision. This poster with a man in a crown of thorns was published only in Italy, a country where there is a separate country for the church. It is likely that the PR people were inspired by Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ film that came out around this time and wanted additional attention. Attracted. The Vatican found this image offensive to all Christians. PlayStation apologized for the ad campaign, but by then it was over.

The main killer feature of video games

So, you tried to seduce the buyer with half-naked women who have nothing to do with the game, but it didn’t work out. Did the insults and promises of sexual assault also work? Maybe then it’s time to talk about your product, for example, about its benefits?

That’s … that’s not what I meant. Nobody advertises Call of Duty with the words: “It’s like a real war, but you don’t have to die.” Although it is worth considering that these leaflets are from a different time. Their target audience was not gamers – publishers were trying to captivate newcomers with video games. They probably didn’t understand why they needed a console when they could play on the field or court. It was then that advertisers figured out that the ability to enjoy the game without having to stare at men’s asses could be a decisive buying argument.

I really want to be sarcastic, but this is really quite a normal ad for a video game. It looks, of course, funny, but it perfectly brings the idea that in the virtual world you can be anyone. Is this really the end of the weirdness? No, of course not.

Iceberg surface

Categorizing these pearls of creative thought is difficult, so let’s put aside the pointless attempts and just enjoy the moment.

Advertising masterpieces like these are an incredible palette of chaos. It seems as if it only exists because our universe has lost a stupid argument to someone. They are absurd, indecent and very unlikely when they can be surpassed (although mobile games are trying very hard). The posters presented in this material so erase the edge of reason that you don’t even notice something that goes far beyond all possible limits. This is a brochure with Stevie Wonder. This is a fake, but a fake that fits perfectly into the environment.

Write in the comments what absurdly weird video game ads you remember. Is it something from the distant past, or do you like modern creators more? Pearls from “The Great Sultan” or “Episodes” are worthy of a separate article. And don’t forget about the TV spots – Japanese miracles with Segata Sanshiro and David Lynch’s arthouse.