Madden Season Drives Kevin Hart and Dave Franco Slightly Crazy - Update

[Esmeralda Portillo]

Madden Season Drives Kevin Hart and Dave Franco Slightly Crazy - Update

In EA Sport's newest commercial for Madden NFL 15, Kevin Hart tries to get into Dave Franco's head.


Update: EA Sports VP of global marketing and brand Anthony Stevenson explains why they made the recent EA Sports commercial for NFL Madden 15 so different than their usual commercial material. "Madden is a franchise that's 26 years old, and that's a little bit of a blessing and a curse," he explains, stating that the franchise has dedicated fans but also needs to find ways to appeal to younger demographics who aren't as familiar with their product.

Hence why the ad features relevant celebrities and pop culture references of the time, "You're not going to attract a new audience with a feature," he continues, "You're going to attract a new audience by catering to what they're passionate about, which in this case is football, competition, and the celebrity talent they like that are in the creative..."

Source: GamesIndustry.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-08-20-the-method-to-maddens-ad-madness]

Original Story: A new commercial for Madden NFL 15 has surfaced, and it's a bit more exaggerated than previous commercials we've seen for the franchise.

Comedian Kevin Hart and 21 Jump Street star Dave Franco go head-to-head for Madden season--will at least Kevin Hart does at first and Dave Franco just puts up with all his taunts.

Notable athletes like Damian Lillard, Eddie Lacy, and Colin Kaepernick make an appearance, as well as other well-known names like EpicMealTime's Harley Morenstein. There's also celebrity rip-offs of Lady Gaga and Deadmau5... and some dolphins. The commercial makes many pop culture references and sports jokes so try to spot them all.

Madden NFL 15 is set to release on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation 4 on August 26th.

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[Ryan Hughes]

I suppose I will quote my response to a previous thread on this topic:

That was like watching a high-speed train wreck in slow motion. . .

The ad has three basic -as they say in music- movements. The first being the "challenge" which kind of goes off the rail when Kevin Hart starts pouring sugar into gas tanks. Check that, he has his eye-candy non-characters pour sugar into a gas tank. Because if you are going to commit a crime, why not have your wage-slaves do it? Then after more nonsensical minor misdemeanors, it moves into the "GaGa" movement. Here the slave-penned writers of this. . . thing, give a clear cry for help by having it devolve into fits of madness-induced lyrical writing, likely do to the severe trauma they have endured in their recent torture sessions. To their credit, they do seem to pull themselves together in time for the final movement: "Wish Fulfillment." Here, using the metaphor -and largely fictional- story of Nero allowing Rome to burn while he played the violin, the two main characters actually play the game that this is supposed to advertise. But, the major intent is obviously to show the destruction of the bourgeoisie mansion, and the folly with which said destruction is ignored, thus both speaking to their own hatred for their characters and their impotent wish to see them harmed. Though it is implicit that the characters are so dense, that even the best efforts of the slave-writers would be unable to reach them.

Watching this, I felt akin to the character of the old man in Poe's Decent into the Maelstrom, my hair itself turning white and my body decaying not from age, but from the sheer horror of a brief time spent staring into not even the abyss, but a gaping downward spiral of the terror and insanity of death. Not the death of the flesh, but of the mind, the moral, ration and coherent thought themselves.

 

[Eridani74]

EA, yeezus, I thought you'd figured out to not give your advertising teams as much cocaine after the Dante's Inferno and Dead Space debacles but apparently they dug up some emergency stash from somewhere.
At least this is entertaining in some bizarre way but man, how much drugs are those marketing drones on really.

 

[AdagioBoognish]

Well, I've now seen two threads on the Escapist about this commercial and more on other sites. Looks like their getting the publicity they wanted.

 

[FogHornG36]

THEY JUST SPENT MORE MONEY ON THAT COMMERCIAL THEN THEY DID TO MAKE THE GAME BETTER!

I say make the game better, because it has LITERALLY been the same game for the last 10+years...

 

[FPLOON]

Let in burn... LET IT BURN!!

But seriously, it's like an official EA parody disguised as a Madden parody commercial that I hope is shown during any playoff game in all its glory... Sure, this won't make the [actual] game any better, but then again I don't play any of the Madden games so maybe it does... somehow...

Overall, I got nothing and I feel like re-watching it again for no reason whatsoever...

 

[Sniper Team 4]

That was really stupid.

I liked it. I thought it was amusing.

 

[PhantomEcho]

This is what happens when you actually allow advertising people to have fun.

You know, when you tell them "Fuck it... go all out with this. Forget political correctness. Forget sanity. Forget the fact that this is essentially the same game as last year with some stats and numbers updated. Just go nuts. Come up with the most insane, competition-fueled madness you can imagine and throw as much money as you need to make it happen at it."

I'm sad to see that Mr. Hughes up there has evolved to a plane of existence where a little bit of madness and fun are actually soul-rending experiences equivalent to meta-physical annihilation... but since I can't stand people like that... no, I'm not really sad at all.

This was... fun. I wish more commercials... or television in general... had FUN, or understood what FUN actually is. Apparently, most folks in the industry must be taking their cues from the likes of Ryan Hughes, because they make me physically ill and thus I stopped watching television altogether. This could actually entice me to come back.

I derive very little entertainment out of sports... and have zero interest in sports games... but this entertained me in a way that is normally reserved for the likes of Superbowl commercials. (And even those have been failing me, lately.)

 

[gphjr14]

Pure genius, still never bought a madden game and probably won't start now...

 

[EnigmaticSevens]

*Snip*

Fun. Sponge.

There is a time for the philosophical disassembley of cultural media and there is a time to revel in the madness for a bit to better appreciate the taste of sanity. This is the root of social intelligence. While the innumerable sins and shortcomings of a consumerist, capitalist society may be evident in all of its creative spasms, to decry the bourgeois and lament the plight of the wage-slave and the slave-writer on a computer built with minerals born of the labors of enslaved children, while garbed in clothing woven by the criminally overworked and underpaid, on a website that proclaims itself 'the Escapist' and champions a glut of existentially vapid and vacuous activities, is at best delusional, and at worst, terribly hypocritical. Pause for a moment, and consider the possibility that good comedy is multi-layered, and that the reason its so easy for you to identify the plethora of mad socio-political tautologies is not simply because you're oh so very clever, but because one or more of the writers involved is just as clever as you, and more than willing to rejoice. So laugh, old chap, laugh, even if its only to keep from crying, and give air to your grievances in a more constructive manner than chirping disdainfully at a bit of lovely escapism.

 

[bjj hero]

Its a fun advert.

I was looking through my history on my 360 and noticed I'd not played a Madden game since the M2008. Might be time to dip my toe in the water again.

 

[Trucken]

I loved it. It feels like every idea from the brainstorming session was used and the result is total insanity. It made me laugh and might make me buy the latest Madden.

 

[Ryan Hughes]

Fun. Sponge.

There is a time for the philosophical disassembley of cultural media and there is a time to revel in the madness for a bit to better appreciate the taste of sanity. This is the root of social intelligence. While the innumerable sins and shortcomings of a consumerist, capitalist society may be evident in all of its creative spasms, to decry the bourgeois and lament the plight of the wage-slave and the slave-writer on a computer built with minerals born of the labors of enslaved children, while garbed in clothing woven by the criminally overworked and underpaid, on a website that proclaims itself 'the Escapist' and champions a glut of existentially vapid and vacuous activities, is at best delusional, and at worst, terribly hypocritical. Pause for a moment, and consider the possibility that good comedy is multi-layered, and that the reason its so easy for you to identify the plethora of mad socio-political tautologies is not simply because you're oh so very clever, but because one or more of the writers involved is just as clever as you, and more than willing to rejoice. So laugh, old chap, laugh, even if its only to keep from crying, and give air to your grievances in a more constructive manner than chirping disdainfully at a bit of lovely escapism.

Yeah, don't take what I said too seriously, I thought it was obvious I was exaggerating. But, I still think there is no way this commercial could be produced in a healthy environment. Ultimately, it is pretty clear that the commercial hates both the thing it was supposed to advertise and the audience that it is advertising to. The best comedy may be multi-layered, but is always founded in character. This type of nonsensical ad throws its own characters away like so much trash almost as soon as it introduces them, and the "stars" are treated as vapid and one-dimensional caricatures. By extension, the audience is treated the same way.

The reason I object is simply that this is par for the course with EA. Ever since the release of Ultima VIII in 1994, and with no real variation, they have been insulting their own customers. The more recent controversies over false protesters for "Dante's Inferno" and other stunts are at this point about as surprising as a sunrise. My objection has nothing to do with who is more clever, and has everything to do with who is insulting whom. I honestly feel sorry for people that enjoyed this commercial, because they clearly do not realize the disdain that EA is showing them.

 

[Nurb]

It's EA showing they have too much money

 

[Trishbot]

If the actual game had a crazy, fun, insane mode (like zombies on the moon in Call of Duty), I imagine they would revitalize Madden sales.

Just imagine... NFL Blitz or NBA Jam or Mutant League Football level wackiness and codes, turning a "normal" game of football into something truly unique, bizarre, fun, and quirky.

 

[Happiness Assassin]

There should be a poll for this commercial, as I have only ever seen 4 responses to this ad:

1. That was dumb, the commercial was awful, EA has finally stopped caring.

2. That was dumb, the commercial was fun, EA has finally got an entertaining ad.

3. That was insane, the commercial was amazing, EA may be doing self parody at this point.

4. Just... what the fuck did I just watch?

 

[kael013]

This statement is so stupid...

[quote/]"Madden is a franchise that's 26 years old, and that's a little bit of a blessing and a curse,"[/quote]
I didn't know a series of expansion packs and engine upgrades could qualify as a franchise. Then again, I don't know any other series besides the other sports "franchises" you spit out that does that.

[quote/]the franchise has dedicated fans but also needs to find ways to appeal to younger demographics who aren't as familiar with their product.[/quote]
It's. A. Football. Videogame. The only people who aren't familiar with it in this day and age just don't care. Also an ad that focuses on some insane musical with only 8.3% of the airtime (seriously, only 18 seconds of the 216 second runtime is dedicated to the game) showing the game as a [i/]backdrop[/i] isn't going to familiarize the younger demographics with your game. By that point I'm pretty sure the audience is more invested in the stupid "plot".

[quote/]"You're not going to attract a new audience with a feature,"[/quote]
Yeah, God forbid you show them the [i/][b/]product[/b][/i]. (again, 18 seconds.)

 

[Bestival]

Heh, I love Kevin Hart, this doesn't change shit about that. But fuck EA and fuck all sports in general, pointless game.

Also lol @ xbone already being downpriced... I had forgotten about that.

 

[Redflash]

As others have said, the celebrity content of the advert was bizarrely-paced with way over the top sight gags and a displeasing mishmash of audio styles.

But what really bugged me was how bad the brief snatches of gameplay looked... character models looking awkward trying to occupy the same space, slow-moving beefcakes responding sluggishly to the controls and a wide-open scrimmage line that the ball-carrier appeared to be ambling through without facing any opposition. Not exactly thrilling stuff.