Leveraging spiking interest in chess surrounding the current World Chess (commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE)’s world title tournament between reigning champion Magnus Carlsen and Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi, gaming giant Activation Blizzard teamed up with former champion Garry Kasparov to promote its cerebral digital card game Hearthstone.
The campaign is led by a six-minute documentary which sees the 58-year-old chess legend – who was seen by many as the game’s best ever player until the arrival of current champ Carlsen – prepare to play a new AI opponent in a tongue-in-cheek attempt at revenge for his famous 1997 defeat to IBM’s Deep Blue.
The online video, called ‘Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov Takes on Hearthstone’, was posted across the brand’s digital and social channels on 1 December and directly references Kasparov’s defeat to Deep Blue 25 years ago before going on to explore the human side of digital card games as it tracks the former chess champion’s journey in preparation for a different kind of showcase match.
The spot challenges viewers to ‘prepare your brain for battle, and learn more about Hearthstone at playhearthstone.com’ whilst encouraging direct downloads of Hearthstone via https://blizz.ly/KASDOCEN.
The campaign was created by agency Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners (BSSP) and the docu-ad was directed by Lance Oppenheim.
“I still remember Deep Blue vs. Kasparov back in 1997,” explained Activision CMO Fernando Machado. “That was such an iconic moment in time. So when BSSP brought us the idea of bringing Kasparov to learn and play Hearthstone against an AI, we felt we had something powerful to play with. Hearthstone is a very cerebral game. It’s easy to learn but hard to master. Kasparov also loved the idea and was all-in. He really invested in learning the game. In fact, he is still playing today and climbing the ranks of the game.”
“Kasparov’s battle against the AI was iconic,” added BSSP’s ECD Sinan Dagli. “We wanted to make sure we told the tales of the match in 1997 and set the scene for Garry’s new challenge in Hearthstone. The documentary approach gave us the freedom to show Kasparov’s incredible journey of learning Hearthstone and going up against A.I. once again.”
Oppenheim has also been a big Kasparov fan ever since seeing the documentary Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine.
“I first watched it when I was 10 years old, and its hyper-stylized, paranoid thriller elements – made up from the stuff of everyday life – really stuck with me and went on to influence my work as a director,” added Director Lance Oppenheim. “Kasparov is the perfect documentary subject. One of the greatest strategic thinkers alive, he’s a natural fit for Hearthstone – a game that, much like chess, requires a deep amount of strategy, preparation and mental acuity. Being involved in this project, and getting to work with a legend and one of my personal heroes, was a dream come true.”
The BSSP which worked on the project was led by Sinan Dagli (Executive Creative Director), Ed Patterson (Creative Director), Jeff Hornung (Creative Director), Justin Hargraves (Creative Director), Will Sands (Associate Creative Director), Robison Mattei (Associate Creative Director), AJ Marino (Account Director), Gustavo Feria (Account Executive), Shelby Deffterios (Creative Project Manager), Chrissy Wamsher (Senior Producer), Tess Rockers (Senior Producer) and Liz Corsini (Head of Production).
The campaign was briefed by and created for Activation Blizzard’s marketing team which included Chief Marketing Officer Fernando Machado, Chief Creative Officer Pelle Sjoenell, Executive Producer Walter Kong, Head of Marketing Todd Harvey, VP, Global Consumer & Digital Marketing Matt Small, Consumer Marketing Manager Marcella Ziccarelli, Associate Consumer Marketing Manager Rachel van Essen, Associate Counsel Shelina Kurwa, Senior Producer Lara Tran, Associate Marketing Manager Meaghan de Wolf, Brand Manager Melissa Smith, Senior Marketing Manager Ajay Ravi, Senior Director, Publishing Josh Kerwin, Senior Brand Manager Scott Conway, Senior Director, Corporate Communications Andrew Reynolds, Public Relations Manager Fabio Lo Zito and Global Director, Consumer Marketing Cristiano Alburitel.
Comment
It was back in 1997 that an historic chess match took place between then International Chess Federation/World Chess Federation World Champion Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue which was a great advert for the engine’s creator IBM and something of a humbling experience for the Russian grandmaster (it was the first defeat of a reigning World Chess Champion by a computer) and arguably for all of humankind.
Chess is red hot at the moment following last year’s Netflix smash hit ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ and this year’s FIDSA World Championship in November and December.
This is perhaps part of the reason why the docu-film has generated 2,188,855 views so far on Heathstone’s own YouTube channel alone.
Heathstone is just one of several brands, campaigns and products leveraging the current world title tournament. In fact, World Chess itself recently launched the first ever official chess sunglasses in time for the FIDE World Chess Championship Match in Dubai developed in collaboration with Akila Eyewear.
According to the official PR statement: “The glasses with their defined shape and smartly placed chess pattern, are another step in making chess (and chess players) cool and in line with World Chess’ mission to develop chess products worthy of the sport’s rising profile. One also really needs sunglasses in Dubai!”
Other notable recent chess-linked marketing initiatives from this year include Carlsen’s recent tie-up with Mastercard and Stella Artois ‘Bullet Chess Speed Run’ with grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura.
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.