Storytelling In Advertisements
This advertisement is for Bungie’s new IP, Destiny. In this advertisement, we see three characters exploring four worlds: the Moon, Venus, Earth and Mars. It is meant to be a narrative of the day to day adventures you’ll face in the game. Sellnow defines the narrative perspective as a “rhetorical method for examining ideological arguments conveyed through storytelling” (Sellnow, 49). The trailer starts out with all three characters landing on the moon, one of the first stops of the game for the player. We are greeted with the voice of a small floating robot known as a ghost that will serve as a guide for your journey to “Become Legend” as Bungie puts it. The trailer is set to Led Zeppelins, “Immigrant Song” which was a very deliberate choice as it uses the feeling of that song to narrate the journey of the three characters. Visual effects supervisor, Eric Barba of the production company, “Reset” explained the choice of the music in an interview with “Digital Domain” a VFX house used for this ad.
The piece delivers the promise of action packed game play from beginning to end. Adding to the adrenaline pumping pace is Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song.”
“72andSunny [ad agency] had a strong idea of what music they wanted going in,” Barba said. “Anytime you get to create a piece of cinema to Led Zeppelin, you’ve already got a strong foundation for a visual piece like this. You just have to make sure the picture lives up to that classic track.”
The intended audience for this piece was mainly gamers. The implication of the text seen here is that there is a massive adventure waiting for exploration and that by purchasing the game, you get to experience it firsthand. Overall, this advertisement was a way to get people excited for this new game and eager to start a new adventure by showcasing foreign worlds and stunning visuals and did a great job at doing just that.
