Sports, entertainment, and gaming
WWE is a live action pop culture factory that has created countless household names. They define themselves as “sports entertainment”, and no other form of entertainment translates more directly to video games.
But the WWE 2K franchise had a unique problem. As an annualized title, there just wasn’t enough dev time to make significant updates on a yearly basis. So how do you present the game as new, different, and exciting every year, even when the game hasn’t really changed much?
The answer was to lean heavily into the entertainment side of sports entertainment, and showcase the cover stars as the pop icons they truly are.
Over the course of 4 years, these multi-channel, international campaigns infiltrated wrestling and gaming culture, blew up Reddit, influenced on-camera WWE storylines, generated millions of views, thousands of fan reaction videos, and a bucket of creative awards.
Suplex City
Brock Lesnar, former NCAA and UFC champion, doesn’t really speak. But he does say one thing. His catchphrase: “Suplex City, Bitch!” So we decided to turn it into a real place through a digital and mobile campaign, complete with municipal phone lines, local cable ads, and a searchable map with hidden clues that revealed the games roster.
Be Like No One
Seth Rollins is the future of WWE, and the future isn’t too fond of the past. This commercial helped define Rollins’ anti-establishment character, so much so that WWE changed his presentation to incorporate the phrase “BURN IT DOWN!” which fans now gleefully scream at the top of their lungs whenever he appears.
To preach the gospel of Be Like No One for the rest of the roster, we needed someone who was pretty unique themselves. Someone like WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Doog.
Never Say Never
UFC trailblazer “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey grew up idolizing WWE legend “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. He not only gave her permission to use his nickname, he also gave her his famous leather jacket. The voiceover in this spot was taken from a 2015 Piper’s Pit podcast, long before Rousey decided to enter a WWE ring, and shortly before Piper’s untimely death later that year.
Beyond Ronda, the campaign also told the improbable stories of how Superstars
like Charlotte Flair, Rey Mysterio and others made it to WWE.
Step Inside
“The Man” Becky Lynch shattered the glass ceiling of the WWE boys club when she became the first woman to main event Wrestlemania. Then, she made history again by becoming the first female WWE 2K cover star.