A franchise that has 7 games and over 55 million sales, the Call of Duty series is arguably the most prominent video game series today, up there with Madden and Halo. The franchise, published by Activision, has accumulated over $3 billion in sales worldwide. These games have gone from simple World War II first person mission games to the some of the largest online multiplayer games. The game has evolved to the point where many gamers are essentially just playing online and ignoring the campaigns. The latest installment in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops, was released this week and sold over 5.6 million copies worldwide in the first day. This franchise’s success and reach is undeniable and appeals to hardcore and casual gamers alike.
The Call of Duty franchise is not only known for its popular video games, but also for some of the most memorable commercials by any recent video game. Because of the high name recognition, the commercials do not have to emphasize game play and graphics or even the game itself, but rather can rely on pointing out the staggering volume of gamers playing Call of Duty games. The loyal fan base already assumes all the titles are going to maintain the level of quality they have become accustomed to, thus there is no need to brag about the quality. Also, they no longer need to waste time explaining what Call of Duty is, since the name has become synonymous with war, shoot-em up video games. They instead can make their point in other, perhaps more entertaining ways. The approach they have taken recently is pointing out the success of the series and emphasizing the overwhelming volume of gamers that engage in playing Call of Duty games daily.
This approach saw the second most recent entry in the series, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 come out with the “Everyone is doing it” commercial. Call of Duty is one of the few games that could pull this commercial off without appearing cocky, simply because they have the numbers to validate their claim. This proves how powerful a brand Call of Duty is, as this approach is typically reserved for the most established brands such as Nike or Geico. A pig riding in a van has as little to do with car insurance as a caveman does, yet Geico can employ this approach because of the name recognition. This same name/brand recognition allows Activision (publishers of Call of Duty series) to have a commercial with little to no relevance to the game itself. The humor approach even contradicts the game itself, as Call of Duty games are notoriously filled with violence and gore. This commercial however is incredibly effective and is a perfect example of their new marketing approach which hopes to capitalize on a bandwagon effect where more and more gamers buy and play Call of Duty because “everyone is doing it”.
The latest installment, Call of Duty: Black Ops, took a similar approach with its recent commercials. Rather than show the actual game play, they show real life people and several celebrities engaging in what is assumed to be the multiplayer part of the game. Call of Duty’s multiplayer component has become its most popular feature, and this commercial points out that fact while emphasizing just how diverse a group is brought together by the game. You could be in a game playing with the likes of Kobe Bryant and Jimmy Kimmel without even realizing it. Clearly, Call of Duty advertisements are no longer about the game itself, but rather the strong community surrounding the game. They are making Call of Duty less of a game and more of an experience. As they say, “everyone is doing it”.
-Michael Austin is a senior BEM major at Wake Forest University concentrating in Marketing
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