• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, September 4, 2014

EA Sports has partnered with Google to promote its flagship Madden football game by allowing fans to create custom GIF ads in real-time based on what's happening on the field during the game. It's part of Google's Art, Copy & Code initiative to use creative pieces and technology in campaigns.

The Madden 15 ad campaign lets fans share their feelings about game play on the field as it happens in real-time. It serves up to fans browsing sports-related sites and is tied to the NFL season kickoff between the Seahawks and Packers. 

The ads run as short, looping video clips, or gifs, featuring specific highlights in the game. Virtual Madden players recreate the action. The gifs flash "smack talk your rivals in real time." For every NFL Game, whenever your team scores, fans choose from a variety of Gifs where they can write their own text to overlay the image in real time and share with others.

Mike Glaser, marketing manager of creative partners at Google, explains how the platform creates a live stream of memes using Madden NFL 15 video game footage as GIFs, triggered by action on the field. The GIFs appear in real-time on MaddenGiferator.com, social media, and popular sports and game-related sites.

"For example, if Seattle’s Richard Sherman picks off Aaron Rodgers tonight, you might see a GIF of Sherman with the headline 'Weren't you supposed to catch that? Aawwwwwkward' in the stream, alongside a real-time update on the score and game clock."

Google estimates that 84% of consumers now watch TV while multitasking on other devices. Glaser points to a resurgence of search interest for GIFs on Google Trends. It's been a steady uphill march around the interest in GIFs since 2011.