Electronic Arts: NEED FOR SPEED

Credits & Description:

Category: Best Use of Screens

Advertiser: ELECTRONIC ARTS

Product/Service: HOT PURSUIT RACING GAME

Date of First Appearance: Nov 7 2010

Entrant Company: MEDIACOM GERMANY, Düsseldorf, GERMANY

Managing Partner: Clas Jelinkel (Magic Moments)

Senior Consultant: Matthias Höppner (Magic Moments)

Art Director: Claudia Di Giorgio (Magic Moments)

Creative Director: Georgios Engels (Magic Moments)

Media placement: TV Campaign 'Duell Split' - DMAX - 07.11.2010



Insights, Strategy & the Idea



Need for Speed was facing a strong competitor. The Gran Turismo racing series was not only catching up in terms of game play but also in realistic graphics.



On-top of this “NfS” was losing its strong profile: Historically NfS comes from the Arcade game genre with clear focus on wild racing action. But in the last NfS releases it was tried to attack the Gran Turismo series by also entering the more reality-focused racing simulation segment.



Eventually sales were declining and the client decided that we had to go back to the roots. “Need for Speed” needed to recollect the virtues of the old days when fun came first. We wanted gamers to regain their enthusiasm about NfS and show them that everything they loved about the good old NfS days is part of the latest release… just better and more realistic.



Creative Execution

What can be more real than reality? The TV reality show “Bullrun” was the perfect TV show to connect the game with the fun factor and the realistic racing action.



For Need for Speed we invented a completely new TV special - the so called “Duell split”.



The trailers started with racing scenes from the TV show to make the audience enthusiastic about the rally. Then when the racing action was hottest we split the screen into half with the program on the left and simultaneously with rampant racing scenes from the new NfS game on the right. You had to look twice which one was the real TV race and which the racing game.



The best thing was that both, the TV show and the new NfS game had the same race cars in it. Be it an Italian hot-blooded Lamborghini Murciélago or the American classic - a Shelby Mustang - we could impressively demonstrate the high-end realism of the game.



Results and Effectiveness

The results exceeded all expectations. Sales were skyrocketing with a plus of 40% compared to the last release which is massive in the gaming segment.



We got enthusiastic reactions towards the game not only in tests in gaming magazines but also in gaming forums: “Need for Speed got back to its roots. Rampant old school racing-action. It’s looks great, it’s fun and is really good for the racing series.”



The key to success? We were able to give back NfS a clear profile as racing game – fun, arcade and realistic action.