W+K’s ongoing work for Old Spice demanded one hell of a refresh and the agency thankfully obliges with this rather promising effort for the P&G brand, which stars beloved former NBA center, Dikembe Mutombo. Though long since retired, the man who could talk so much shit with just a wag of his finger is still very much involved in humanitarian causes, so who better to help avert the imminent apocalypse promised by the Mayan calendar than old #55.
Yes, this is the basis of a real-time, online 8-bit gaming experience from W+K for Old Spice dubbed “4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World,” which will have our hero embark on weekly globe-trotting missions based on current event and help prolong our lives on this planet. So far, from visiting the game play site alone, we gather that this week, Mutombo must stop Gangnam Style and encourage people to vote–might be a little late on that one–but hell, we’re 100 percent behind this mission. Along the way, we’ve met a Cosby sweater-adorning, intelligent talking bear and other odd characters all while trying to figure how the hell get out of level 1. We must say, though, that regardless of how odd and chaotic this whole campaign is, we’re quite enamored with it thus far and will take it over some of the recent Greg Jennings work any day. Give it a shot here. Credits after the jump.
Executive Creative Directors Mark Fitzloff & Susan Hoffman
Creative Directors Jason Bagley & Craig Allen
Interactive Creative Director Matt O’Rourke
Copywriter Andy Laugenour
Art Director Max Stinson
Senior Interactive Producer Mike Davidson
Interactive Producer Ben Kendall
UX Designer Jake Doran
Director of Broadcast Production Ben Grylewicz
Director of Interactive Production Pierre Wendling
Management Supervisor Michael Dalton
Account Supervisor Liam Doherty
Business Affairs Cindy Lewellen
Media Team Kelly Muller, Kerry Antos, Lisa Feldhusen
GAME DEVELOPMENT
Game Maker Adam Atomic/Adam Saltsman
Artist Paul Veer
Artist Sven Ruthner
Composer Jukio Kallio
Sound Designer Robin Arnott
ANIMATION
Animation Company Powerhouse Animation Studios
CEO Brad Graeber
Studio Director Jason Williams
Production Director Louie Granda
Creative Director Sam Deats
Animators Chris Beaver, Ed Booth, Kellan Stover
WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT
Digital Development Company Driftlab
Developer Ash Warren
Developer Nate Horstmann
Developer Dan Will
Animator Joe Corrao