• by Aaron Baar , October 1, 2010

"Star Wars" may have taken place a "long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away," but that doesn't mean people didn't need to tell time.

LucasArts, the gaming arm of Lucasfilm Entertainment, has entered into a partnership with young male-skewing Complex Media Network and watchmaker G-Shock to promote the upcoming release of its video game, "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II."

"'Star Wars' is this great brand, and LucasArts is an amazing video game company that sells more units than a lot of people think. But they need to talk to more than just the vertical gamers," Rich Antoniello, CEO of Complex Media, tells Marketing Daily. "A lot of the traditional advertising wouldn't play for them from a messaging perspective because it's about game play and ratings. There are 'Star Wars' freaks that are [just] casual gamers."

The campaign includes a microsite, www.Complex.com/TheForceUnleashed, that gives fans and collectors the chance to win two limited-edition G-Shock watches inspired by the game. The 50 pairs of watches, designed collaboratively by LucasArts and G-Shock, were inspired by the game, and focus on the master/apprentice relationship at the center of the game's story.

"We designed these watches and packaging around Vader and his apprentice," Antoniello says. "It's one package that's wrapped together, like a master and apprentice. It's two different watches and packaging that will bring the characters to life."

Complex Media will promote the sweepstakes via advertising units within the company's network of premium Web sites (which include Freshnessmag, SlamXHype, SarcasticGamer, Planetxbox and PlayStation University) and through the October/November issue of its Complex magazine. The rich media ads on the Web sites will provide background about the watch-creation and behind-the-scenes video about the creation of the watches. The company is also banking on spillover PR that comes with "Star Wars"-related items to help promote the games, Antoniello says.

"There's three sets of audiences that can obsess off of this," Antoniello says. "There's the gaming audience, the 'Star Wars' audience and the Complex [Media] audience."