Torrance, CA - Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles has announced a partnership with premiere software developer and publisher Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. Saatchi & Saatchi will air a new commercial in their campaign for Toyota Tacoma placed entirely in authentic game footage from World of Warcraft®, the world's most popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game, with more than 9 million active players. The result is a departure from the campaign's history, which employs live, but staged, 'found-footage' to demonstrate the Tacoma's toughness in out of the bizarre ways.
"A campaign that's achieved recognition is a campaign that needs to evolve," said Harvey Marco, Saatchi's Executive Creative Director. "We looked at the core idea from a different perspective to show that a simple strategy doesn't have to become stagnant over time."
The commercial was developed in the style of machinima (machine cinema), an immensely popular trend where video game footage is manipulated to tell a unique story. Streaming video sites are rich to overflowing with examples of amateur filmmaker's attempts at stories, spoofs and music videos. In the case of this ad, video-capture supposedly records the moment where a character uses a truck to attack a dragon.
"World of Warcraft has always had a rich history of humor and cultural references," said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Blizzard Entertainment®. "Taking part in a campaign like this is an exciting opportunity to offer a different perspective on the setting, and we hope it provides a good laugh for anyone familiar with the game.
The commercial was conceived by creatives Dino Spadavecchia and Greg Farley under the creative direction of Steve Chavez. Creative consultation was provided by Blizzard Entertainment. Visual effects were developed by Hydraulx Inc. of Santa Monica.