For many gamers (perhaps a few Creativepoolers amongst them), today is not simply the 27th of October 2015, it's the day they've been waiting on for years. The launch of Halo 5: Guardians, the latest entry in the blockbuster gaming franchise, and the first for the Xbox One console. To celebrate the launch, Xbox and McCann London have created a new campaign to launch what’s being billed as the most competitive Halo multiplayer game ever, which help gamers find the right players for their squads in rather elaborate and unique ways.
To celebrate the launch of Halo 5: Guardians, Xbox and McCann London have created a uniquely interactive new campaign
The campaign, called “Squadvertiser” (it grows on you we promise), allows gamers to make their own personalised ads through a specially created interactive Squadvertiser website, and find like-minded, compatible buddies to play the game online with. To help them reach as many potential recruits as possible, Xbox has actually handed over genuine media space to gamers on billboards, on social channels and banners on some of the world’s biggest gaming sites. The idea is based around the game’s fresh reliance on co-op play, because for gamers to succeed in Halo 5, they need to form squads with the right combinations of players and skills. The Squadvertiser campaign helps them do just that by creating and sharing striking, personalised recruitment ads for their squads. By selecting from a range of visuals, player types and other criteria, as well as writing their own copy, gamers can make an official Halo ad to find a new squad member who has just the abilities they seek.
Squadvertiser allows gamers to make their own personalised ads through a specially created website, and find like-minded, compatible buddies to play online with
For those who aren’t recruiting, but are looking to be recruited by another team, Squadvertiser also features a bespoke job board where Halo fans can browse and apply directly to the ad’s creator if they think they’ve got the right skills to join their squad and tackle the game’s campaign (which has been specifically designed to flow better when played with others). The Squadvertiser campaign will run in 10 countries, from the UK to Brazil. Over the next three months, ads made with Squadvertiser will appear on billboards, press placements and banners, making this the world’s biggest ever recruitment drive for gamers, by gamers. Besides these grand executions, there are all kinds of smaller events taking place as part of the campaign, including a recent event at Game retail stores, where gamers could print up their own, bespoke Squadvertiser t-shirts.
Over the next three months, ads made with Squadvertiser will appear on billboards, press placements and banners
Adrian Simons, EMEA brand director at Xbox, said: “We’ve changed the game when it comes to Halo’s multiplayer, with this innovation our loyal fans will have to reinvent their player style to win. Squadvertiser enables more of them to get more out of the expanded features.” Laurence Thomson, chief creative officer at McCann London, added: “Echoing Lord Kitchener, our modern twist on this call to enlist puts the gamers in control of their victory.”
