Resident Evil 6 launches with ‘disturbing’ campaign from Brothers and Sisters
Resident Evil 6, from Japanese games developer and publisher Capcom, is scheduled for an early October release and in preparation London creative agency Brothers and Sisters has produced the multi-platform advertising campaign.
Described as ‘the most disturbing and frightening advertising campaign ever’, it has featured a blend of action and survival horror from the game which has been five years in the making.
Building since January 2012, back when it was revealed there would be a sixth instalment of the game, the campaign initially asked people worldwide how they would react to zombies via an anonymous website.
Following on from this, the campaign has included two films, ‘Cries for Help’ and ‘Last Goodbyes’, in which people are captured in the final moments of their lives, before they succumb to zombies. Directed by Pat Holden, ‘Cries For Help’, which will air at 9pm on ITV1 on September 7, sees people from all corners of the globe call to the skies for salvation as the end approaches. In ‘Last Goodbyes’, men and women leave emotional last goodbye messages to loved ones on their computers and phones.
In addition to the campaign commercials, interactive augmented reality press ads have been created using Blippar technology, and have featured exclusive trailers and footage from the game, plus the Cries For Help TV spot. An alternative reality game has also been developed where fans can be selected to "restart humanity" by submitting themselves for a series of psychological and physiological tests, culminating in a real-world DNA profile
The campaign has also included auction site eBay, as listings with exclusive artefacts from the narrative, such as university jerseys, contaminated with the C-virus that causes zombie mutation have been put up for fans to bid on.
The dedicated Facebook app, produced by creative agency Crush, has allowed users to place themselves in an interactive film which depicts their friends and family massacred in the zombie apocalypse.
Andy Fowler, founder of Brother and Sisters, commented: "In advertising it’s very rare to find a client like Capcom, prepared to make work this brave. Both in terms of the bleak subject matter and in going to air with a film that has no branding on it, and leaves the audience to discover what it’s for. This project has taken us to the darkest places in our imaginations and we are phenomenally excited to see how the world reacts."
Content created with:
Brothers and Sisters
Find out more