With the Harry Potter series of novels completed, the only products that can get weirdos to hang out in a store until midnight are video games. And, with the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops II coming next week, “America’s Chain,” Walmart, is trying to convince weirdos to specifically hang out in their store with this new spot from The Martin Agency.
Believe it or not, this spot was directed by Ruben Fleischer, better known to most as the director of Zombieland. For those that are unaware, a large portion of the Black Ops series is dedicated to killing and/or running from zombies. So, this selection actually makes a good amount of sense.
Perhaps even more shocking, Walmart enlisted the help of Academy Award-winning composer of The Social Network, Trent Reznor, to create the music playing in the background as our protagonist runs to safety. It’s strange to consider that Reznor, better known to most of you as that angry guy from Nine Inch Nails, is now having his “Theme from Call of Duty: Black Ops II” arrangement used to convince nerds to go to Walmart. But hey, Trent Reznor’s gotta eat just like everyone else. You don’t want Trent Reznor to starve to death, do you? Also, we can probably safely assume that Trent had no idea his music for the game would end up in a Walmart ad. Credits after the jump.
Credits:
Executive Creative Director:
Joe Alexander
Creative Director:
Trent Patterson, Adam Stockton
Senior Copywriter:
Mike Van Linda
Associate Creative Director:
Nik Piscitello
Strategic Planner:
Hank Thornhill
Account Executive:
Marisa Weber
Project Manager:
Jessica Dennis
Agency Executive Producer:
Christina Cairo
Agency Broadcast Producer:
Amanda McDaniel
Agency Assistant Producer:
Marlena Villery
Production Company:
Caviar Content, Los Angeles, CA
Director:
Ruben Fleischer, Caviar Content, Los Angeles, CA
Director of Photography: Damian Acevedo
Executive Producer:
Michael Sagol and Jasper Thomlinson
Head of Production:
Leigh Miller
Producer:
Luke Ricci
Where were the spots shot: Santa Clarita, California
Editorial Company:
Whitehouse Editorial, Los Angeles, CA
Editor:
Dan Oberle, Los Angeles, CA
Assistant Editor(s):
James Dierx