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Ad of the Week – Xbox ‘Destiny’
What do you do when you have a new product available that you just can’t advertise? If you’re Microsoft, you find a very clever way around it.
There’s a new game called ‘Destiny’ launching for the Xbox One and 360. The game will also be available on Sony’s PlayStation 4, and a deal with developer Activision means Sony has exclusive rights to the advertising.
In retaliation, Microsoft promoted a different ‘Destiny’ product – a non-existent fragrance. A brand new website was set up for the fake cologne, and initially, the homepage presented visitors with this:
Clicking through reveals the true purpose of the ad:
Microsoft UK confirmed that the website was their doing. Unfortunately, the ad’s now been taken down and replaced with a nice message about Xbox offers.
There’s some clever copywriting within this ad – “thanks for smelling that something was up” – and it’s a short and sweet subversion of the promotional ban.
Check out some of the previous Ads of the Week we’ve featured, and let us know if you’ve seen any. Leave a comment or send a tweet @strattoncraig.