xechnao said:
Suppose you had the money what short spot adversiment could you do on TV about D&D? Who would it be referring to and how?
As someone else said you could do it for the minis but I do not think you could for D&D 4e. It could also be considered a disservice to the brand's lifestyle value by fans.
An interesting point of view. I wouldn't discount what xechnao is saying.
A first year marketing stuent could tell you that a fundamental rule of the game is that you don't market products but the positive associations you make to the products.
Some products visually symbolize these associations. The vehicle luxury car commercial, if done right, really just needs to sit there -- the value being in the comfort and accoutrements of the interior. In comparision to a sports car commercial which always involves shots of the car acceleration and power -- because the association is in the freedom.
D&D minis could be considered evocative in this way. Much the way toy commercials use evocative toys that kids associate with the fun in using the toys.
This is not true for the RPG, however. D&D the product is a book -- not sexy at all. It is the act of fun, friendship and creativity of playing the game that compells people to purchase the books. That is the most common positive association of the product.
The relationship between the D&D books and the game is kind of like a commercial for ski equipment. The camera doesn't linger over the skis -- it includes dynamic shots of people skiiing.
OF course skiiing is a an exciting and visually dyanmic activity that translates well on screen. Playing D&D, as much as I love it, loioks dorky when it is being done by other people on your TV screen. In this regard xechnao is right -- it is 'deep' (not my first choice of words, I'd use 'ill-fitted') for the medium.
On the plus side, the obstacles I described above, while real, are not insurmountable. Good ad guys make a fortune for a reason. I've sat through my share of ad brainstorms -- and D&D would be tough...
...the best I can see would be to seel the 'escapist' associations of the game, preferably if there were licences..."What would you do if you were Gandalf...What would you do if you were Conan... now you can find out...(you could do it without licensed properties but the visuals and the names woud have to be instantly evocative of classic fantasy tropes)...the would playing of the game would not be the active imagery...but the minds eye actualization of playing a fantastic hero...
Anyway, likely still not worth the cash, but whatever... developing concepts is fun.
BTW -- as a final thought how many good Board cames or collectible card game TV ads have you seen. Not many...for the very same reason. Just because someone spit out a MTG or Pokemon CCG TV ad once upon a time does not mean that was money well spent.
