BBDO and Meta joined forces to create an immersive campaign designed to generate FOMO for the launch of Meta’s Asgard’s Wrath 2, hailed as the largest Virtual Reality RPG ever, earning a rare 10/10 rating from IGN as a groundbreaking game-changer. In the game, the mischievous deity Loki wreaks havoc across realms through cosmic gateways, and our strategy involves disrupting major cultural events to captivate audiences and redirect their focus to Asgard’s Wrath 2, aiming to translate the virtual chaos into real-world excitement.
The official debut of the game took place on Friday, December 15th, but the buzz began weeks earlier with the emergence of ‘discovered videos’ featuring Loki’s henchmen on social media. The disruption escalated when similar mayhem unfolded during a live broadcast of the Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns game on ESPN. NBA announcer Richard Jefferson reported a ‘mysterious vortex’ outside the Footprint Centre in Downtown Phoenix, revealing the monstrous scenario from Asgard’s Wrath 2 invading reality.
The intrigue deepened with the release of a reality-blending movie trailer, where Loki’s domain merged with the protagonist’s room through a gateway, leading them to don a Meta Quest 3 for battle in Asgard’s Wrath 2. The thrilling action unfolded in ancient Egypt, with Loki threatening to destroy reality.
Loki’s chaos extended to The Game Awards, both inside and outside Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre. During the event, Matt Mercer (the voice of Loki) joined presenter Geoff Keighley on stage for the World Premiere of the Gameplay Trailer, only for Loki to gatecrash, warning of impending mayhem. As spectators left the theater, a massive 300-square-foot luminous gateway appeared in the Los Angeles skyline, showcasing Loki and his creatures. The lifelike spectacle, featured in online videos, led many viewers to believe it was computer-generated.
With minimal paid support, this stunt garnered over eight million views in less than a week, sparking conversations across various online platforms, including TikTok and Reddit. The campaign received praise for its innovative approach, with some likening it to ‘hacking the matrix’ and others dubbing it the ‘future of advertising.’
Credits
BRAND: Meta Quest
AGENCY / CREATIVE: BBDO New York
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Ricky Bowry
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Joe Fox
COPYWRITER: Catherine Nguyen
ART DIRECTOR: Ian Nettleton
CREATIVE: John Ratkowiak
CREATIVE: Ross Hull
DESIGNER: Brenda Cho
ASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Azusa Kobayashi
CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER: Shireen Jiwan
STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Jennifer Green
PLANNING DIRECTOR: Cam D’Auria
STRATEGY DIRECTOR: Julian Alexander
PLANNER: Carly Duris
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Elliot Falconer
ACCOUNT MANAGER: Andrew Helms
ACCOUNT MANAGER: Shamika Gentle
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Bruce McDonald
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Kim Kietz
PRODUCER: Mike Woodall
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Jeff Yeatman
MEDIA: Spark Foundry
PRODUCTION: Standard Productions
DIRECTOR: Johnny Likens
FOUNDER: Chris Gabello
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: David Simpson
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Sid Kreitzer
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Byron Kopman
POST PRODUCTION / VFX: Method Studios New York
EDITOR: Ryan Todd
EDITOR: Kyle Sironen
EDITOR: India Sonnenfeld
EDITOR: Marcus McSherry
MANAGING DIRECTOR: Jesse Kurnit
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Hayley Wallach
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Julia Paskert
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Karina Partington
PRODUCER: Aiste Akelaityte
VFX PRODUCER: Christopher Lewis
VFX PRODUCER: Kyle Fader
VFX PRODUCER: Joseph Hobaica
PRODUCER: Fan Yu
COORDINATOR: Tracey Carpenter
COORDINATOR: Juliann Barbella
COORDINATOR: Olivia Vitagliano
COORDINATOR: Ethan Samuel
EXECUTIVE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Johnny Likens
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Sam McGlynn
VFX SUPERVISOR: Ivan Guerrero
VFX SUPERVISOR: Alex Cheparev
CG SUPERVISOR: Brian Dinoto
CG SUPERVISOR: Christina Faraj
FX LEAD: Tomas Slancik
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Michael Ferraro
LIGHTING: Claire Chang
FLAME LEAD: Chihcheng Peng
FLAME LEAD: Rob Walker
COMPOSITING: Theodore Wirtz
CG ARTIST: Mark Yagos
CG ARTIST: Yang Hu
RIGGING: Rick Fronek
RIGGING: Justin Barcellos
LIGHTING: Irene Kim
LIGHTING: Jan Habib
LIGHTING: RJ Draper
LIGHTING: Mark Lavania
FX ARTIST: Alejandro Echeverry
FX ARTIST: Danil Krivoruchko
FX ARTIST: Pamela Saad
FX ARTIST: Gregory Ecker
FX ARTIST: Jason Simmons
ARTIST: Cemre Esen
CONCEPT ARTIST: Marco Iozzi
STORYBOARD ARTIST: James Randolph
STORYBOARD ARTIST: Keith Morange
ANIMATION: Daniel Patterson
ANIMATION: Bradley Morris
ANIMATION: Brad Hayes
ANIMATION: Isai Calderon
ANIMATION: Andres Asperin
ANIMATION: Andrew Chranowsky
ANIMATION: Greg Bekken
ANIMATION: Robert Yau
ANIMATION: Stephen Mann
ARTIST: Seiji Anderson
NUKE ARTIST: Frank Fieser
NUKE ARTIST: Dan Giraldo
NUKE ARTIST: Ting Hsu
NUKE ARTIST: Sabrina Chan
COMPOSITING: Rickey Verma
COMPOSITING: Sam Chen
COMPOSITING: Tati Bozinovski
COMPOSITING: Nic Kim
DESIGNER: David Weinstock
MATTE PAINTING: Christopher Sanchez
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Warren Wang
FLAME ARTIST: Margolit Steiner
FLAME ARTIST: Bilali Mack
FLAME ARTIST: Larry Merrill
FLAME ARTIST: Jeremy Lloyd-Styles
VFX ARTIST: Thomas Karras
VFX ARTIST: Trevor Brashich
VFX ARTIST: Sergio Segovia
POST PRODUCTION / VFX: Company 3 New York
HEAD OF PRODUCTION: Kevin Breheny
PRODUCER: Shannen Troup
COLOURIST: Sofie Borup
MUSIC / SOUND: Source Sound
AUDIO DIRECTOR: Charles Deenen
PRODUCER: Daniel Lepervanche
PRODUCER: Kelly Baffoni
SOUND DESIGNER: Nick Spradlin
SOUND DESIGNER: Josh Moore
SOUND DESIGNER: Dom Ragancik