EA / ALL POINTS BULLETIN
20 July 2010
Human Avatar used (and abused) to promote new MMO game
- Brand
- EA
- Media Type
- Online
- Viral
- Web Film
- Product Category
- Leisure & Entertainment
- Source
- News
- Agency
- Dare / London
- Tags
- Games
- Avatar
- Massively Multiplayer Online Game
- EA Sports
London-based Dare has taken the virtual customisation feature of EA's new massively multiplayer online game All Points Bulletin into the real world, letting an unmerciful online mob decide the new look of unlucky human Josh.
Just like players of the game can customise their avatar's haircut, piercing, tattoos and clothing, the group's collective decisions are being inflicted poor Josh, for real! Dare has created a dedicated site at thehumanavatar.com where vistors can become voters, cruelly deciding on what is turning out to be a pretty ridiculous appearance. First up was the haircut, picked from different San Paro (the game's city) themed styles - Red Devil, Da Fade, Skins, Cyber Punk, Shockr or Mohawk. Cyber Punk was the clear winner with 44% of the votes. Next up came the dreaded piercing, which is as painful to watch as it must have been to acquire, check out Josh receiving a rather fetching snout ring here.
Dare planner Lydia Jones told Contagious 'the campaign is primarily targeted at male online gamers (mainly first person shooter gaming fans who are roughly between 18-30), with a view for them to be engaged and spread the word on our behalf to their peers (via twitter, facebook, youtube, sharing links etc). It is also intended to appeal to wider audience, due to the nature of the content, mainly confident young males/urbanites.'
Reactions online have been predictably strong, ranging from 'Oh God, who would let themselves be turned into what people in APB make their characters look like? That would be insane, now I must see it D:' to 'This is sick, it's wrong and I find it hard to believe that people actually put themselves forward to be used as human avatars'.
The agency has notched up a number of posts on popular gamer sites, succeeding in creating a talkable idea on a tight budget, with no above the line support to rely on. Love or hate it, the campaign certainly fits with the controversial and gritty nature of this gangland fighting game - if you're feeling cruel, the voting on
 what clothes Josh has to wear will close at at 12pm on Thursday 22nd July.
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COMMENTS /
Bob Russell
Fundamental flaw in this campaign is that avatars can usually be changed in games, tattoos and hair styles and coats and jeans can all be mixed up to create whatever character you want. What this man has been though is permanent and has no reflection on the actual game. It was pretty obvious from the start that people were going to vote for the most extreme elements of the makeover as well. Good marketing stunt but it tells me nothing about the game.