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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FalcWP" data-source="post: 4307751" data-attributes="member: 16858">First off, I wouldn't have tied 4th Edition with the DDI.  That's two brand new things, and if either one flops, it reflects poorly on the other.  DDI got a lot of criticism because of the decision to kill Dragon and Dungeon, and that that bled over onto 4th Edition.  Also, how many people did you hear say, 'I won't play 4th Edition because now you need to play it on the computer'?  I lost track.  DDI and 4th Edition got linked in a lot of minds, and it didn't help matters at all.Second... while ponying up for Colbert and Wheaton might make some sense, the number one guy to get on board for 4E as a spokesperson would have been Vin Diesel.  Number of reasons for this.  First off, Colbert, Wheaton, Patton Oswalt, and Brian Posehn all fit the 'D&D Geek Stereotype'.  To put it bluntly, they're white nerds, which is how D&D players are commonly portrayed.  Vin Diesel, obviously, is not.If they really wanted to spend some cash, your best bet might be to get all five of those guys.  Show the 'nerds' first, then bring in Vin Diesel to DM.  A bit silly, sure.  Probably get some groans from players and non-players alike.  But it'd make an impression.Another thing I'd do for a commercial would be something like what Direct TV has done recently - take a popular movie and substitute in some scenes or dialog to promote the product.  Direct TV has used Major League and Back to the Future for this.  A D&D version might take, say, Lord of the Rings.  Take, oh... the fight in Moria with the cave troll.  Show a few seconds of it, then stop the action - either pause it with the image frozen on the screen, or cut to a view of a D&D game - with a player asking if he can, oh, jump on top of the troll and fire an arrow into it.  DM calls for a skill check or a die roll, player rolls.  Then, the scene resumes, and we see Legolas jump on the troll and fire an arrow into its head.  Fade to black as the DM says 'Ok.  And now it's the cave troll's turn...', show the 4th Edition logo.You could certainly put that on TV - I'd focus on stations like Comedy Central and Cartoon Network.  It might also be viable to look at setting it up as a viral marketing campaign - put it on YouTube and just start sending out links.  I'd also advertise it before any relevant movie around the time of release.  Take the same formula as above, get some advance footage of the movie that's about to be shown... and run it right before the movie.  Indiana Jones and The Chronicles of Narnia would both have been great for this (yes, even though Indy isn't a high fantasy swords and sorcery adventure, the feel is right).  This could work particularly well if you created something for a quick-play module that ties in to the movie in question.  Provide some basic rules, pre-gen characters, and a scenario to run through.  Nothing terribly long or involved, but enough to get people interested (either non-gamers or D&D players who weren't sure about 4E).  Offer a discount to anyone who turns in a movie ticket stub when they purchase the adventure. Just a few things I might have done.</blockquote>

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