Fat Ninja

There’s been a lot of hullaballoo surrounding Microsoft’s aggressive marketing of Halo 3. It seems like everyone and their mother wants to jump in and sling a little mud. I’m not going to jump in here and bash opinions that people are entirely entitled to have. It’s really just a matter of how much you let it affect you. I’ve pretty much ignored the use of Halo 3 to sell everything from more Mountain Dew to more Slurpees. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before with summer blockbusters and Super Bowl Champions, and I never felt compelled to raise my fist in contempt of those equally exploitative efforts to sell a brand. Marketing is exploitative in nature, and in this commercialized world of ours, Mr. Jaffe, all hype is bought and paid for. Now, I’ll step down from my soapbox and move on to my feelings on the Halo 3 movement.

I am bombarded on a daily basis by people that are trying to sell me something. Whether being told to “Jump In” by Microsoft, or having Sony tell me that the PS3 “is Living”, it’s easy to get jaded by marketing schemes. I will, however, say that I think whoever came up with the Believe marketing campaign for Halo 3 is an utter genius. I love the Museum ad simply because it’s not just aimed at the usual parts of my id that are drawn to symbols of status and lifestyle. It appeals to my imagination. This ad isn’t just selling me a product: it’s selling me humanity’s last days. It’s selling me the indomitable courage of the human spirit. It’s selling me a fantasy by cementing it in imagery that I can connect to, and I genuinely appreciate it. This particular item, with all of its detail and interactivity, is absolutely stunning and when I consider the time and energy that surely went into it, I can’t help but applaud the entire concept. Just for a few instances, I did believe.

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