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Why Are Groot and Old Spice at My Table?
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<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 7735336" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p>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.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]114943[/ATTACH]</p><p>[h=3]<strong>I Can't Believe I'm Writing About Old Spice</strong>[/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. <a href="https://twitter.com/OldSpice/status/961362988019064832" target="_blank">They released a class for Pathfinder on Twtter</a>:</p><p></p><p>And yes, <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/7w1r8p/old_spice_created_a_dnd_class_the_gentleman/dtynlxa/" target="_blank">it's the same team</a> who brought you the Old Spice commercials:</p><p></p><p>Reactions were mixed. <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/7w7jrn/old_spice_releases_the_gentleman_class/dtyhymg/" target="_blank">Some folks were excited</a> that a big brand took notice. <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?615863-Old-Spice-D-amp-D-Class-Thoughts" target="_blank">Some folks were concerned</a> that a big brand created something for Pathfinder without using the Open Game License but similar trade dress. And <a href="https://www.thefandomentals.com/old-spice-is-trying-to-improve-your-con-experience-by-marketing-to-dd-players/" target="_blank">some folks just hoped</a> that more gamers would use deodorant.</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p>[h=3]<strong>I Am Groot?</strong>[/h]Matt Mercer, voice actor, gamer, and DM for the web series Critical Role, <a href="https://geekandsundry.com/vin-diesel-brings-matthew-mercers-new-class-to-life-the-witch-hunter-class-for-dd/" target="_blank">created a witch hunter class for Fifth Edition D&D</a> to help promote <em>Fast & Furious</em> actor Vin Diesel's (he's also the voice of Groot in <em>Guardians of the Galaxy) </em>movie, <em>Witch Hunter</em>:</p><p></p><p>Vin Diesel played a variant of this class in a game with Mercer. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/VinDiesel/videos/10153771413778313/" target="_blank">He even recorded a video about it</a>. In fact, Vin Diesel's favorite D&D character was Melkor, a witch hunter, <a href="http://uproxx.com/hitfix/if-it-werent-for-vin-diesels-dungeons-dragons-character-the-last-witch-hunter-wouldnt-exist/" target="_blank">which was the inspiration for the movie</a>:</p><p></p><p>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?</p><p>[h=3]<strong>Hiding Behind a Screen</strong>[/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 <a href="https://www.pure360.com/being-human-brands/" target="_blank">Pure360 puts it</a>:</p><p></p><p>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, <a href="http://amzn.to/2HczvSR" target="_blank"><em>30 Years of Adventure</em></a>. 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.</p><p></p><p>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 <a href="https://twitter.com/OldSpice/status/962428417403600896" target="_blank">with Paizo's blessing and an OGL declaration</a>:</p><p></p><p>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.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 7735336, member: 3285"] 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. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="oldspicegentlemanclass.jpg"]114943[/ATTACH][/CENTER] [h=3][B]I Can't Believe I'm Writing About Old Spice[/B][/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. [URL='https://twitter.com/OldSpice/status/961362988019064832']They released a class for Pathfinder on Twtter[/URL]: And yes, [URL='https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/7w1r8p/old_spice_created_a_dnd_class_the_gentleman/dtynlxa/']it's the same team[/URL] who brought you the Old Spice commercials: Reactions were mixed. [URL='https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_RPG/comments/7w7jrn/old_spice_releases_the_gentleman_class/dtyhymg/']Some folks were excited[/URL] that a big brand took notice. [URL='http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?615863-Old-Spice-D-amp-D-Class-Thoughts']Some folks were concerned[/URL] that a big brand created something for Pathfinder without using the Open Game License but similar trade dress. And [URL='https://www.thefandomentals.com/old-spice-is-trying-to-improve-your-con-experience-by-marketing-to-dd-players/']some folks just hoped[/URL] 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][B]I Am Groot?[/B][/h]Matt Mercer, voice actor, gamer, and DM for the web series Critical Role, [URL='https://geekandsundry.com/vin-diesel-brings-matthew-mercers-new-class-to-life-the-witch-hunter-class-for-dd/']created a witch hunter class for Fifth Edition D&D[/URL] to help promote [I]Fast & Furious[/I] actor Vin Diesel's (he's also the voice of Groot in [I]Guardians of the Galaxy) [/I]movie, [I]Witch Hunter[/I]: Vin Diesel played a variant of this class in a game with Mercer. [URL='https://www.facebook.com/VinDiesel/videos/10153771413778313/']He even recorded a video about it[/URL]. In fact, Vin Diesel's favorite D&D character was Melkor, a witch hunter, [URL='http://uproxx.com/hitfix/if-it-werent-for-vin-diesels-dungeons-dragons-character-the-last-witch-hunter-wouldnt-exist/']which was the inspiration for the movie[/URL]: 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][B]Hiding Behind a Screen[/B][/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 [URL='https://www.pure360.com/being-human-brands/']Pure360 puts it[/URL]: 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, [URL='http://amzn.to/2HczvSR'][I]30 Years of Adventure[/I][/URL]. 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 [URL='https://twitter.com/OldSpice/status/962428417403600896']with Paizo's blessing and an OGL declaration[/URL]: 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. [/QUOTE]
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