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

[Fippy_Darkpaw]

And if he isn't, I'd like to know why his sig makes him the spokesman of Dream Machine Productions ("Dream Machine Productions" ... trademarks owned by Justin Alexander. Used with permission.) and links Dweredell on Lulu (By Justin Alexander).

Well spotted Prof. Cirno (can't give you experience points for the catch at the moment - could someone else please?). Although you meant third person not second. Does this count as a form of sockpuppetry?

Nice job on that perception check.

BTW, anyone know the origin of the music track on the commercial? Tried the Shazam Iphone music ID app and cannot find a match. It is pretty decent at identifying tracks. Tried it on Deicide and Sepultura and it worked. So whatever track is on that commercial is fairly obscure.

 

[Nardil]

Wow. That is truly awesome. How did I not see this before?

As for not being very red box, I disagree. Everybody that this ad is aimed at will recognize it. Instantly.

I disagree. The Red Box is aimed at new D&D players. How can you expect non-players to know anything about it without giving any actual information?

 

[Nifft]

If I walk into a gay bar, and I see one of the beer taps is rainbow colored and the handle is shaped like a man's torso, I don't think, "What a strange marketing campaign for Miller Light." Instead, I assume the marketing campaign is aimed at a particular group of people who will appreciate the outreach.

Are you implying there are straight people who drink Miller Light?

(Actually, I take that back. I wouldn't wish Miller Light on any demographic.)

Beers, -- N

 

[Nifft]

I disagree. The Red Box is aimed at new D&D players. How can you expect non-players to know anything about it without giving any actual information?

These days I don't expect a commercial to educate its audience. The audience can educate itself with five minutes of typing & clicking.

All the commercial has to do is get you interested in whatever its trying to sell.

 

[Holy Bovine]

I disagree. The Red Box is aimed at new D&D players. How can you expect non-players to know anything about it without giving any actual information?

Yup the Red Box is indeed aimed at new (4E) players. The commercial seems to be targeted to lapsed players who haven't played in 20 years. All the images used come from that era (not necessarily the old Red Box but even if you played 1E back then you still knew there was a 'kid's version' of 1E in the BECMI box sets - at least that was how my circle of friends viewed them back then). I doubt it will bring many of those players back but I could definitely see them buying the Red Box for their kids/nephews/nieces.

 

[Scribble]

WotC talked a good game, but the new Starter Set isn't the spiritual inheritor of the Red Box. Instead, it's yet another product taking its inspiration from AD&D's First Quest: Try to get people to pay $20 or $30 for a demo version of the game that's designed to be stuck on the shelf and never looked at again once they buy the real version of the game. (And maybe if you load it up with enough bling, they won't notice that they just paid for advertising.)

Color me really confused on this...

I mean if you consider this boxed set simply an advertisement, because it's destined to sit on a shelf after being used, do you also consider all adventure modules ever made an advertisement for the game?

This boxed set is basically an adventure, with a section designed to teach a completely inexperienced player how to get into and start using the game (in a fun way that feels D&D like from the start) plus rules for making an adventure and running one on his own, plus all of the materials needed to use the box (dice, maps, cards, tokens... AKA the "bling" you mentioned...)

ALL of this at only 20 bux... When most adventures alone run between 20-30 dollars or more... This is an insanely good deal I'd say.

Calling this simply an "Advertisement" strikes me as someone who never bothered to actually look at what the box contained and was designed to do...

Also considering the dice are definitely re-usable, the maps and tokens are re-usable to an extent, and a box can even hold your gear for you... This thing is more re-usable than most adventures.

 

[Toben the Many]

These days I don't expect a commercial to educate its audience. The audience can educate itself with five minutes of typing & clicking.

All the commercial has to do is get you interested in whatever its trying to sell.

I agree wholeheartedly.

Look at the World of Warcraft TV ads. They don't tell you anything about the game, really. You know it's on the computer. You know it's high fantasy. But it doesn't take time to explain to you what an MMO is or how you play one. But they are really funny and get you intrigued enough to go investigate more.

 

[Raven Crowking]

These days I don't expect a commercial to educate its audience. The audience can educate itself with five minutes of typing & clicking.

All the commercial has to do is get you interested in whatever its trying to sell.

This is true, and a good point.

ALL of this at only 20 bux... When most adventures alone run between 20-30 dollars or more... This is an insanely good deal I'd say.

Most of the adventures I buy these days are quite a bit cheaper than the ones you are buying. Paizo adventures (but not the adventure paths), Advanced Adventures, and others are a much better deal, offering far more (convertable) bang for my buck.


RC

 

[Beginning of the End]

And if he isn't, I'd like to know why his sig makes him the spokesman of Dream Machine Productions ("Dream Machine Productions" ... trademarks owned by Justin Alexander. Used with permission.) and links Dweredell on Lulu (By Justin Alexander).

Well spotted Prof. Cirno (can't give you experience points for the catch at the moment - could someone else please?). Although you meant third person not second. Does this count as a form of sockpuppetry?

Yup. You guys caught me.

In other news: Mike Mearls and Bill Slavicsek are both the same person. Mike, after all, works for Bill. So they must be the same guy!

 

[Nifft]

Yup. You guys caught me.

In other news: Mike Mearls and Bill Slavicsek are both the same person. Mike, after all, works for Bill. So they must be the same guy!

Are you trying to imply that, rather than make a sock-puppet account to promote yourself, you paid someone else to act as your sock-puppet?

I find that... unlikely.

Ciao, -- N