Home Gaming Call of Duty director apologises for misguided marketing stunt

Call of Duty director apologises for misguided marketing stunt

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Last month, we told you about the misguided marketing stunt that Call of Duty’s social media handlers perpetrated. They changed their Twitter account to a faux, in-game news channel, and live-tweeted out specifics of a disastrous terrorist attack that hadn’t actually happened. It caused a fair bit of pandemonium, with many thinking the emergency was real.

This, somehow, came as a complete surprise to the people running the account. Speaking to IGN, Black Ops 3 creative director Jason Blundell apologised for the marketing mishap.

“… it was absolutely not done for any kind of attention in any way. It was not done maliciously, or as any kind of scare tactic. I personally am very sorry for anyone who looked at it and got the wrong idea because it genuinely wasn’t meant that way,” he told IGN.

“It was done on our channel, and it was to talk about the fiction of the world. I think we were as shocked as everybody else when it started blowing up, because essentially we were teeing up ready for a story beat. So again, very sorry for anyone who took it that way.”

I have no idea how they thought this wouldn’t happen, especially given the nature of Twitter and how little attention people actually pay to the finer details. Twitter’s essentially a microblogging service that serves headlines, and we know people read those and react immediately, without paying any attention to the finer details, or often, the article’s they’re attached to.

There’s no finer example of this in the local landscape than the parody Woolworths account, Woolworst_SA, which regularly has to correct very angry people who’ve failed to read properly.

Last Updated: October 13, 2015

13 Comments

  1. Grand Admiral Chief

    October 13, 2015 at 12:08

    Next time use the thing that is used for the thinking mmmkay?

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      October 13, 2015 at 12:09

      Fish AI?

      Reply

      • Grand Admiral Chief

        October 13, 2015 at 12:14

        Oh look I have a (bad) marketing idea! [a few seconds later] Oh look I have a (bad) marketing idea! [a few seconds later] Oh look I have a (bad) marketing idea! [a few seconds later] Oh look I have a (bad) marketing idea! [a few seconds later]

        Reply

  2. Grand Admiral Chief

    October 13, 2015 at 12:08

    Wol wors, heh, lekker lag ek nou

    Reply

    • Grand Admiral Chief

      October 13, 2015 at 12:13

      After reading some of the wol wors tweets, good grief, people are antsy

      Reply

      • Grand Admiral Chief

        October 13, 2015 at 12:18

        After reading some more, I realize that the jokes are funny, the racist comments are not

        Reply

        • Darren Peach

          October 13, 2015 at 12:48

          Satire ? But I get what you are saying.

          Reply

  3. Alien Emperor Trevor

    October 13, 2015 at 12:16

    Everyone knows gamers are fact checking averse. ;P

    Reply

  4. oVg

    October 13, 2015 at 12:29

    Bwahahahahahahaha my favorite is the God of War 3 marketing fail 🙂

    “Slaughter: Horror at Sony’s depraved promotion stunt with decapitated goat”

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-451414/Slaughter-Horror-Sonys-depraved-promotion-stunt-decapitated-goat.html

    Reply

  5. HvR

    October 13, 2015 at 12:44

    Still have no idea why they spend a single cent (never mind double the dev budget) on popular franchises like CoD.

    Reply

    • Darren Peach

      October 13, 2015 at 12:46

      It’s the game worlds version of the Kardashians.

      Reply

  6. Darren Peach

    October 13, 2015 at 12:45

    Nothing wrong with a little naughty……..nes. Anyone ever hear Whackhead’s antics when he trolled that Aussie radio station into thinking they got a Exclusive interview with Tom Cruise ? Cost them over 100 000 Dollars in marketing. All cause they said he wasn’t funny.

    Reply

  7. MakeItLegal

    October 13, 2015 at 14:43

    good marketing , but mis guided in the consequences

    Reply

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