• by Aaron Baar , November 9, 2015

When creating a marketing campaign for one of the most anticipated tie-ins for the game associated with one of the most storied entertainment brands around, it helps to use some eye-catching imagery. 

As the marketing plans for EA’s “Star Wars: Battlefront” game get underway, the company’s long-time advertising agency, Heat, has created a two-minute long-form video that uses one iconic moment from the saga to show how the game makes players feel as if they’re part of the space fantasy world. 

“Star Wars is one of those things that has beep cultural roots, so you don’t have to do a lot of explaining,” Ryan Hartsfield, associate creative director at Heat, tells Marketing Daily. “[The big issue was] how do we distinguish the game from the slew of marketing that’s out there and use that to be about the game and what it means to be a Star Wars fan.”

The video, which will run globally, depicts various people going about their day, but then vanishing only to leave their clothes dropping to the floor. Some hints are dropped throughout: one bookshop owner has a TIE-Fighter tattoo on her neck; a man brings a hoodie over his head like a Jedi; the signature theme music is attached to the spot. Finally, as more and more people disappear, actress Anna Kendrick is shown making a sandwich in her kitchen. As she stares at the knife, she turns to the camera and says, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” (Obi-wan Kenobi’s final line to Darth Vader in the original “Star Wars” film.) She disappears, and is re-imagined in the game, in the middle of a battle, just as other characters are shown appearing in the films’ iconic battle scenes. 

“No matter where you are in your past, you’ve tried to live out those [Star Wars] fantasies,” Jeff Fang, associate creative director at Heat, says. “Now that this game is out there, you can do that.”

The long-form commercial, which will run on YouTube, Facebook and in cinemas all over the world, is part of a larger marketing campaign that will include a Battlefront-specific spot created by Sony for its PlayStation game and pre-roll digital in which fans can watch some of the industry’s biggest gamers and celebrity fans give color commentary as they play through the game. 

“There's all of these fans out there, and they’re going to be able to disappear into the game,” Hartsfield says. “And you’ll be able to see them do just that.”