So it's finally come to this: Old Spice recently made a class for Pathfinder. This isn't the first time a brand has created a class for D&D and it won't be the last, but it says a lot about gamers -- and the brand -- in how we react to these ads.
[h=3]I Can't Believe I'm Writing About Old Spice[/h]Old Spice's quirky brand has always targeted young men and it's clear the marketers at the company thought they would experiment by using a relatively low-key approach with geek media. They released a class for Pathfinder on Twtter:
This isn't the first time a brand tried to make a play to D&D gamers using a class, however. But unlike this largely anonymous effort, it was led by two people with strong connections to D&D.
[h=3]I Am Groot?[/h]Matt Mercer, voice actor, gamer, and DM for the web series Critical Role, created a witch hunter class for Fifth Edition D&D to help promote Fast & Furious actor Vin Diesel's (he's also the voice of Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy) movie, Witch Hunter:
[h=3]Hiding Behind a Screen[/h]The big difference is identity. Generally speaking, most consumers prefer a brand to engage them as people, not as faceless brands. As digital marketing company Pure360 puts it:
Old Spice, on the other hand, released its class on Twitter with no one's name attached to it. Old Spice got enough feedback that they made a follow-up post, relaunching the class with Paizo's blessing and an OGL declaration:
And yes, it's the same team who brought you the Old Spice commercials:
Reactions were mixed. Some folks were excited that a big brand took notice. Some folks were concerned that a big brand created something for Pathfinder without using the Open Game License but similar trade dress. And some folks just hoped that more gamers would use deodorant.
This isn't the first time a brand tried to make a play to D&D gamers using a class, however. But unlike this largely anonymous effort, it was led by two people with strong connections to D&D.
[h=3]I Am Groot?[/h]Matt Mercer, voice actor, gamer, and DM for the web series Critical Role, created a witch hunter class for Fifth Edition D&D to help promote Fast & Furious actor Vin Diesel's (he's also the voice of Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy) movie, Witch Hunter:
Vin Diesel played a variant of this class in a game with Mercer. He even recorded a video about it. In fact, Vin Diesel's favorite D&D character was Melkor, a witch hunter, which was the inspiration for the movie:
Like the gentleman class, the witch hunter class mimiced D&D's trade dress but did not use the Open Game License when it was released. So why are gamers reacting differently to the two approaches?
[h=3]Hiding Behind a Screen[/h]The big difference is identity. Generally speaking, most consumers prefer a brand to engage them as people, not as faceless brands. As digital marketing company Pure360 puts it:
Vin Diesel has always been up front about being a geek-at-heart--he penned the introduction to the 30th Anniversary of D&D book, 30 Years of Adventure. Matt Mercer is a huge advocate for geekdom in general. They created a class that takes the topic seriously and although it's called "witch hunter" there's no direct link to Vin Diesel's movie. Just as importantly, the class debuted on Geek & Sundry, a D&D-friendly site.
Old Spice, on the other hand, released its class on Twitter with no one's name attached to it. Old Spice got enough feedback that they made a follow-up post, relaunching the class with Paizo's blessing and an OGL declaration:
Is one approach better than the other? In the end it doesn't really matter -- tabletop gamers are now a sufficiently large demographic that brands are targeting them. The fact that we're discussing it at all means Old Spice was successful. And that means there will be more co-branded D&D content in the near future. Brace yourselves.
