As the New Orleans Saints make their Super Bowl debut, so does Electronic Arts. On Super Bowl Sunday, two days before the video game hits store shelves, EA will introduce football fans to Dante’s Inferno, a third-person action-adventure videogame, with the company’s first-ever Super Bowl commercial. The hellish 30-second spot features Dante’s Inferno, a stunning HD game inspired by the first part of ‘The Divine Comedy’ written by 13^th Century Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The ad entitled “Hell Awaits” premieres during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIV broadcast on CBS on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010. Dante’s Inferno from EA will be in stores on Feb. 9, 2010.
As traditional advertisers withdraw from this year’s big game, EA – a leading interactive entertainment software company – will use the Super Bowl as a platform to expose nearly 100 million viewers to Dante’s Inferno within the coveted 18-34 year old male demographic. EA joins perennial advertisers Anheuser-Busch and Mazda as well as other newcomers to the Super Bowl advertising scene such as Time Warner cable channel TruTV, Sprint Nextel’s Boost Mobile and Kia Motors.
“Even within the spectrum of live sports events, the Super Bowl stands apart, almost as a national holiday,” said Frank Gibeau, president at EA. “The Super Bowl is a bull’s-eye in terms of cross-over to our core demographic and the reach is outstanding. Not only does it draw 100 million viewers, but most people watch the Super Bowl live, a rarity in the world of DVRs. While digital outreach to Facebook, Twitter, and online bloggers is a core part of our marketing strategy, we felt that advertising during the Super Bowl is an excellent way to introduce this new IP to a massive cross-section of people who are likely already familiar with the dark and twisted “Divine Comedy.”
EA’s Super Bowl advertisement caps off a breakthrough marketing campaign crafted to cut through the noise and support the launch of this all-new videogame property amongst 18-34 year old action fans. With a focus on engaging fans, EA used digital media, bloggers and community for the Dante’s Inferno marketing campaign. The company brought the tagline “Go to Hell” to life using several innovative programs
Source Electronic Arts
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