Geeks don’t watch football. It’s a fact of life. But this may change for at least one night in the near future as fans of the upcoming title Dante’s Inferno will be tuning in Sunday for the big game when EA puts out its most expensive television ad ever.
Expected to be viewed by roughly 100 million fans, the Super Bowl has developed a reputation for some of the best, and worst, commercial debuts of the year. With the ever climbing price tag for commercial time during the Super Bowl, it is estimated that EA will be paying close to three million dollars for Dante’s Inferno to be shown amongst the center of the marketing universe for a mere thirty seconds.
Dante’s Inferno’s Super Bowl commercial, entitled “Hell Awaits…” will appear during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIV as a final push in the game’s already extensive marketing campaign. In preparation for the game’s February 9th release date, just two days after the Super Bowl, “Hell Awaits…” concludes a campaign that included Facebook apps, action figures, comic books and an animated DVD feature.
One of the many massive denizens of Hell that Dante must encounter
President of EA Frank Gibeau talked about their high-priced marketing venture saying, “Even within the spectrum of live sports events, the Super Bowl stands apart, almost as a national holiday…The Super Bowl is a bull’s-eye in terms of cross-over to our core demographic and the reach is outstanding. Not only does it draw 100M viewers, but most people watch the Super Bowl live, a rarity in the world of DVRs.
While digital outreach to Facebook, Twitter, and online bloggers is a core part of our marketing strategy, we felt that advertising during the Super Bowl is an excellent way to introduce this new game to a massive cross-section of people who are likely already familiar with the Divine Comedy. Inspired by a classic, but perfect for today’s action gamer. This is entertainment at its best.”
If the demo was any indication, Dante’s Inferno is going to be a big deal when it comes out on February 9th for the Playstation 3, PSP and Xbox 360. Be sure to check back right here for more information about the video game interpretation of the first chapter of the Divine Comedy.
