Earlier this month Omelet launched a new campaign for the latest installment of Square/Enix’s popular Hitman series with a pre-roll ad called “The Wolfshark” which allowed viewers to press a button to “Kill this ad” and assassinate the character. Now the agency has launched an interactive social campaign for the game built around a 60-second online spot, once again putting the trigger in the hands of the viewer.
“Choose Your Hit: May the worst Gary win” stars Gary Busey and Gary Cole (who you may remember as the boss in Office Space). The two spend the 60-second ad trying to one-up each other with claims of their awfulness. Busey gets the ball rolling with “I kidnap vegetarian kids and raise them on meat,” to which Cole counters, “I clip my nails on public transportation.” Over the statements, text reading, “Gary Busey deserves to die” and “Gary Cole does too” appear onscreen. At the end of the ad, viewers are called upon to decide who deserves it more, by tweeting with either the hashtag “#KillBusey” or “#KillCole.” Subsequent “Choose Your Hit” content will release episodically, with two new videos appearing weekly over the course of three weeks, with gamers subsequently getting to kill off the winner through exclusive in-game content.
“The game is all about options and choice, so we wanted to bring that into the campaign by letting fans choose which Gary to kill,” said Omelet creative director Clemente Bornacelli. “We love working with Square Enix, and the opportunity to use advertising as a way for fans to change the video game was unique and exciting.”
“Agent 47 is the greatest contract killer in gaming, and he only goes after elite targets. So we put a fun twist on that premise by having these well-known pop culture figures competing for the honor of being killed by the best of the best,” added Omelet senior copywriter Jimmy Barker.