D&D is now in (exceedingly awesome) commercial form

[rogueattorney]

This ad is targeting people who played D&D roughly from 1975-1985 and then entirely left the hobby of RPGs. That's also the era that is approximately when D&D peaked in terms of total number of players. I think those people will be reminded of a fond memory that they had forgotten about until now. And the trigger of that ad will be enough for some of them to want to buy it for themselves and their kids.

I think this is right. Speaking as someone who lapsed as a customer of D&D in about 1994, but continued to be a rpg'er who played old D&D products and other rpg's, I had a hard time leaving the new box set in the store. In the end, I did leave it in the store and bought the Dragon Age boxed set instead. I knew that I would be dissatisfied with the D&D box because I knew about 4e and knew that it's not the type of D&D game I'm looking for.

Guys less dialed into the rpg scene aren't going to know these differences. The ad, the box, they look like they came straight from 1983. It's the rpg equivalent of picking up Def Leppard's Pyromania to rock out to while taking your kids to school.

But, yet again, I wonder what the reaction of these hypothetical players will be to this old-school aesthetic/new-school design. WotC might get them to buy the box, but will they get them to sign on as long-term customers employing a rule set that, in my opinion, bears little resemblance to the rule system these lapsed players are familiar with and are presumably nostalgic for? WotC must be quite confident of the self-evident improvement of the rules. I am less so.

 

[Blastin]

as someone else mentioned.....
since this little add has already sparked debate and conversation....I would say it's working...

 

[Shemeska]

WotC might get them to buy the box, but will they get them to sign on as long-term customers employing a rule set that, in my opinion, bears little resemblance to the rule system these lapsed players are familiar with and are presumably nostalgic for?

This. Very much this. And not even the rules, but the flavor and fluff assumptions in 4e versus the iterations of AD&D 1-3e. There's a disconnect in my mind between marketing with AD&D images and its associated nostalgia, and the 4e game that it's being used to promote. It's like saying "Do you like Coke Classic? Haven't had a bottle of it in years? Then try Diet Coke with Lime and Splenda! It rocks! It rocks old school!".

Plus there's the whole thing of who exactly are the red box and essentials actually being marketed too? Every other thread seems to be switching as to it being entirely for new players or focused on lapsed D&D players (and didn't 3e try to market to them extensively already with a large amount of success with its 'back to the dungeon' thing 10 years ago?).

 

[Edvamp]

Not at all convinced that the ad will do anything at all for either lapsed gamers or for new players. The art and the music may appeal to older D&D devotees, but not much else.

As for the comments about the target being parents or a relative to see the ad and buying it for their kids or nieces or nephews; I really hope that isn't WotC's marketing strategy. They would be a heck of a lot better off marketing to the kids directly so they want to try the game than hope for kids to want to try something their parents or uncle played with they were kids.

It is not unusual for companies to develop multiple avenues for their marketing. Look at Geico or McDonald's commercials, they have different ones that appeal to different demographics. I wouldn't be suprised if D&D had different marketing strategies involving web videos, magazine ads or whatever to target parents, lapsed gamers, younger teens, MMO players, etc.

Of course I'm also not convinced this is a real ad from WotC anyway. I suspect somebody edited that older video, attached a splash of the new red box to the end and tried to pass it off as a real ad from WotC.

Definitely possible. Reminds me a little of fake movie trailers that pop up on Youtube.

 

[Edvamp]

I have been playing D&D since 1979 and still fail to understand the connection some people place between D&D and Heavy Metal (music). Now, put a Conan soundtrack or some Loreena McKennitt in there, and I'm set.

It's not really that strange. When you look at the time period D&D was coming into its own in the 70's and 80's a lot of metal music had very similar themes to D&D. I just got finished reading The Elfish Gene by Mark Barrowcliffe and as a teenager right at that time he felt that heavy metal was pretty much D&D set to music. Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Hawkwind (especially with the Michael Moorcock connection), Iron Maiden and, God help me, Manowar, had heavy fantasy themes easily mentally accessible by D&D players.

Yes, classical or orchestral music like the Conan soundtrack was appropriate as well, but metal had enough commercial success to make it easier for teenagers to be exposed to it.

Also, as someone else pointed out there is also a connection between D&D and heavy metal as the hobbies of social outcasts (either real or simply perceived). I know a lot of D&D players into punk as well, most likely for the same reason, although punk doesn't generally share the same thematic elements to D&D the same way metal does.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

But, yet again, I wonder what the reaction of these hypothetical players will be to this old-school aesthetic/new-school design. WotC might get them to buy the box, but will they get them to sign on as long-term customers employing a rule set that, in my opinion, bears little resemblance to the rule system these lapsed players are familiar with and are presumably nostalgic for?

I honestly doubt changes--even radical changes-- in the rules will be such a big deal. If they're targeting people who last played 20 or 30 years ago, how much of the original rules would they remember anyway?

What might be more obviously different to such a "prodigal son" customer is how the structure & presentation of the new Red Box differs from the old one. Some have maintained that it's not "complete" as a game in the same way the old Red Box was, or doesn't "play out" the same way, or otherwise produces a very different second "first D&D experience".

It will be interesting to see how the newness and the nostalgia complement each other for drawing in wayward D&Ders!

 

[Aeolius]

I turned 15 in 1980, so I suppose I was in that same era. Back then I listened to my share of Zeppelin and Jimmy Buffett, but then the early 80s happened and the bulk of my listening switched to New Wave (Missing Persons, Men Without Hats, etc) and Electronic/New Age (Jean Michel Jarre, Cusco, Narada artists, etc). Sure, I had times when Foghat and Scorpions fit the bill, but the stuff that really powered me up seemed to be the stuff that put other folks to sleep.

As for the commercial, I only know it isn't marketed towards me.

 

[rogueattorney]

I honestly doubt changes--even radical changes-- in the rules will be such a big deal. If they're targeting people who last played 20 or 30 years ago, how much of the original rules would they remember anyway?

What might be more obviously different to such a "prodigal son" customer is how the structure & presentation of the new Red Box differs from the old one. Some have maintained that it's not "complete" as a game in the same way the old Red Box was, or doesn't "play out" the same way, or otherwise produces a very different second "first D&D experience".

It will be interesting to see how the newness and the nostalgia complement each other for drawing in wayward D&Ders!

The bolded is precisely what I mean. They're not going to remember the particulars of the rules, but they will remember that they never put out a battle board or used counters. They will remember that combat didn't seem to take as long. They will remember character construction as being simpler. I am absolutely sure some will like the changes and others won't like the changes. The question then becomes as you state it, how the nostalgia and newness compliment each other.

I think WotC will be relatively successful in getting "old guys" to buy their new box. I'm really curious to see whether or how that translates into a larger D&D community.

 

[IronWolf]

Plus there's the whole thing of who exactly are the red box and essentials actually being marketed too? Every other thread seems to be switching as to it being entirely for new players or focused on lapsed D&D players

I've seen this mentioned before, but the Red Box is being called "The Essential Dungeons & Dragons Starter" and "this boxed game contains everything needed to start playing the Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game" (both quotes taken from the WotC Red Box page).

It seems pretty clear cut that the box set is for people new to Dungeons and Dragons. Keep in mind though, Dungeons and Dragons 4e. So a starter set can work well for new players that have never played D&D or for people that haven't played since 1st or 2nd edition as both sets of people will be new to D&D 4e.

WotC has a product that can easily be marketed to either players that have never played D&D or to players that just haven't played since 1st or 2nd edition.

 

[Oryan77]

WotC is really going all out for that old-school nostalgia feeling in their new D&D commercials. I found this other new promotional ad and they have the 80's haircuts, costume design, and creepy narration down perfectly...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1wGlOwn1pM]YouTube - TSR Dungeons and Dragons game TV commercial[/ame]

Apparently they even want to remind us when D&D was owned by TSR. Good job Wizards! I feel like a kid again!