17 Sep 2014 | Ad of the week | Copywriting | Digital content | In the news | Stratton Craig

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.