Currently, Half-Life 3 is the game everybody wishes to play. Fans of the Half Life series have aged considerably since the last release in this franchise. Although we all want to play it pretty bad, it may still not be as bad enough compared to these two individuals, Chris Salem and Kyle Mazzei.
These men have strongly believed that their ad-men prowess will convince Valve to develop and release Half-Life 3. These two advertising interns setup a new Indiegogo campaign and that too, a very expensive one. This serious duo demands $150,000 from all interested backers in order to show Valve that the Half-Life fans seriously mean business.
Their ideas range from potentially wild and ridiculous to insane. $3000 for keyword ads targeting Valve employees with Half Life 3 is just one of them. $45,000 required in order to hire a complete army of Gabe Newell impersonators is a much more ridiculous idea.
However, what is the grand prize if these two interns hit their massively high goal of $150,000? If that happens, a Half-Life themed music concert will be set up so as to melt the hearts of all Valve developers and make them finally consider the release of this game.
If one thinks it through, there are certain aspects that come out with such a publicity campaign. The entire thing should comprise mindless fun and hope for the sense of humor of the current gaming community and a bit of a stealth publicity for the agency’s project as well. The latter is certainly evident from the message that was included by this crazy duo.
It indicates that they have been backed up by one of the best advertising agencies in America called McKee Wallwork & Company (stealth publicity much?). Furthermore, the company will certainly help them out throughout the campaign and make sure they have all the resources they need without thinking of any profitable aspects.
Last checked, when they had 29 days to go, they had hardly scooped up a little above $1000 in their $150k goal. The reaction from the gaming community has been negative. The number of dislikes on their trailer pitch is also double compared to the likes for this publicity campaign.
Although the entire idea seems rather funny and quirky, it is not good enough to ignite the interest of the present-generation gamers. It is not possible that Valve would ignore the pestering “When is Half Life 3 coming?” inquiries from thousands of gamers, only to respond to such a campaign. Undoubtedly, it will perhaps remain the most anticipated game forever till it’s released (or not released!). However, resorting to such crazy campaigns may not be able to rally any support from the gaming community.