• by Aaron Baar , October 11, 2013

Ubisoft looks to link the brutal existence of a pirate in the 18th century to the rebelliousness of present-day young men in new advertising for its latest Assassin’s Creed title, "Black Flag."

In a new video commercial for the title from advertising agency Mistress, television commercials use the heavily tattooed body of the game’s main character, Edward Kenway, to get into the game’s story. As the tattoos roll off Kenway's body to depict scenes in the game (one of a chain over his shoulder becomes a scene where Kenway is chained to a tree and beaten by members of the Royal Navy).

“Have you ever been disrespected?” says a voiceover. “Forced to follow orders? Would you rather break free and live by the creed of a pirate?” The spot continues with action scenes on the high seas as the voiceover continues: “Are you willing to fight to do whatever you want? ... Calling the ruthless, fearless masters willing to pledge allegiance to no one.”

“We’re using the character's body as a map of all the things he's done to win his freedom,” Mistress Executive Creative Director Scott Harris tells Marketing Daily. “[The game] is a story of him being disrespected by the navy and how that drove him into piracy.”

The theme of disrespect, independence and revenge are themes the agency expects to resonate with the game’s target of young adult males, Harris said. “In a lot of ways, it's the way young people [are] rebelling against their own lives," he says. “We wanted to make sure the things we were referencing in the voiceover were relevant to now. We wanted to make sure they were underpinning a human desire to be free.”