Omelet Kills Pre-Roll Ad for Hitman

Omelet launched a new campaign for the latest installment of Square/Enix’s popular Hitman series, with a new spot that takes a different approach to pre-roll.

The spot, entitled “The Wolfshark,” opens with a profile of “reality TV’s King of Corruption,” a corrupt multi-millionaire described as “despicable, all-powerful, untouchable.” Viewers are presented with an option in a box on the lower right hand part of the screen (where the “Skip Ad” button would normally be) to “Kills this ad in…” with a countdown. When the button is pressed the action jumps to the game’s protagonist murdering “The Wolfshark,” followed by the tagline (and hashtag), “#HitHappens.” The spot was launched today to coincide with the release of the game, with a second portion of the campaign arriving next week. Of course, inventive takes on pre-roll ads are nothing new, with The Martin Agency’s “Unskippable” pre-roll campaign for Geico perhaps the most noteworthy example. Here, Omelet utilizes a method tied to the content of the game, a nice little trick the agency hopes will come as a pleasant surprise to fans of the series, piquing the interest of more casual viewers. Coming on the heels of the broadcast spot “Age of Death” for Far Cry Primal and a Super Bowl ad for Pokémon, the agency’s profile certainly seems to be on the rise.