New Magic Commercial

[B.C.]

Anybody seen the new Magic commercial? I just saw it today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbLgtuOhXb4

Not bad in my opinion. Plus, if you go to the website you can sign up for a "free deck". Not sure what that means, but I signed up. I mean... free cards.

[Mordel]

The free deck is probably a like what they gave away in the mtg ambassador and guru programs:

Some basics, some grizzly bears and a couple of hill giants.

[KillemallCFH]

That commercial was terrible. I'm really not sure what audience they were aiming that at. Thirteen year old emo kids who have to pretend to be a Planeswalker to feel good about themselves? Magic, like any fantasy game, is primarily played by geeks, or those with a geeky side. There is no reason to make a commercial that alienates those for whom the game is intended in an attempt to pick up whoever that commercial was targeting. I really don't see that as an effective strategy to draw in new players.

Then again, I don't know dick about marketing, so I hope they prove me wrong and somehow bring in new players with that commercial.

[socialite]

Are you fucking kidding me. Im all for being myself and I don't really give a fuck about judgmental people, but in all seriousness are they for real? Honestly Im pretty sure you couldn't have picked a worse voice actor. Way to enforce stereotypes. I feel embarrassed for whomever thought up and produced that commercial.

[Nihil Credo]

I have an idea for a better MtG commercial: 30 seconds of this still image.

http://www.toplessrobot.com/nerdgirlsafe.png

[beastman]

Wow.....Is that facial hair, or just hideous lighting? she looks like a dude!

[Phoenix Ignition]

Wow.....Is that facial hair, or just hideous lighting? she looks like a dude!

All you really need is another stack of cards over her face and you're set for hours.

[beastman]

A butterface if I ever saw one.:laugh:

[socialite]

I have an idea for a better MtG commercial: 30 seconds of this still image.

http://www.toplessrobot.com/nerdgirlsafe.png

Posting pictures of Gearheart on The Source is kinky. Me likely.

[beastman]

OH SNAP!!!!!!!!!! Thats not right.

[Barook]

Considering how bad German Magic spots are, it wasn't actually that bad in the beginning. But that entire "Here I rule" stuff is just stupid.

But we're already used to Wizards and their failure at marketing.

[sunshine]

That commercial was horrible. That picture would be bad too, but definitely not as bad.

Edit:
Although I have to admit I signed up for the free cards. I'm not expecting anything, just curious.

[THEchubbymuffin]

I just signed up for my free deck and this is what they say,

The spark of a planeswalker has ignited within you and the infinite Multiverse of Magic: The Gathering now lies at your feet. A free deck containing a powerful arsenal of sorcery will be delivered to you in 4 to 6 weeks. Use it. Get in the Multiverse, find a Wizards Play Network location at magicthegathering.com, challenge other planeswalkers, forge your destiny, and declare "Here I Rule!"

[URABAHN]

I just signed up for my free deck and this is what they say,

The spark of a planeswalker has ignited within you and the infinite Multiverse of Magic: The Gathering now lies at your feet. A free deck containing a powerful arsenal of sorcery will be delivered to you in 4 to 6 weeks. Use it. Get in the Multiverse, find a Wizards Play Network location at magicthegathering.com, challenge other planeswalkers, forge your destiny, and declare "Here I Rule!"

Yup, I signed up for free cards as well. Now to get my wife and sister's kids in on this action. I don't care if they send me 60 Grizzly Bears.

[sunshine]

I wonder if they send you a different deck depending on your personal information - particularly whether or not you said you've played magic before. Did anyone say they're new to the game?

[Pinder]

Yeah, even though the commercial is really bad, the whole "here's free shit to get you started" thing is probably a pretty good idea. People love free shit. I love free shit. I signed up for the free shit.

It's going to be shit, but I just can't resist when it's free shit.

[sunshine]

Their commercial should just have been james earl jones saying: "Here's free shit to get you started."

[freakish777]

Their commercial should just have been james earl jones saying: "Here's free shit to get you started."


No, it should have been James Earl Jones instead of the girl in the above picture in the exact pose with the same lack of clothes saying "Here's free shit to get you started"

[sunshine]

Hey, if he were wearing a Darth Vader mask it would definitely have appealed to a more appropriate audience.

[beastman]

A darth vader mask would also make her much more attractive. LoLZ:laugh:

[Nihil Credo]

Wow.....Is that facial hair, or just hideous lighting? she looks like a dude!

A butterface if I ever saw one.:laugh:

A darth vader mask would also make her much more attractive. LoLZ:laugh:
http://xs133.xs.to/xs133/08463/n456.jpg

[rockout]

Free cards, I don't see why not. Who doesn't need more Hill Giants to throw in the trash. I know I do.

[Citrus-God]

Free cards, I don't see why not. Who doesn't need more Hill Giants to throw in the trash. I know I do.

Or free cards to proxy on for that matter. I know mine will have lots of sharpie writing on them.

[beastman]

http://xs133.xs.to/xs133/08463/n456.jpg

ouch.......I'll go cry in a corner now.:cry:

[raharu]

lulz, you've never known the warmth of a woman

Savage.

[mercenarybdu]

The commercial spot is well made yet it is not quite as good as the ones previously....

[raharu]

Does someone have a link for the free shit? I normally would find it myself, but dial-up + a morass of a shitty site = I can't. Thanks for whatever help I may or nay not receive.

Also, mercenarybdu: I haven't even seen this most recent commercial, but I'm sure you're wrong.

[Elficidium]

The old commercials with Kezzerdrix and Rhox were awesome.

Anyway, completely horrible and I sincerely hope they don't broadcast it here.
I continually try and promote MTG as a very strategic game with a great tournament structure to back it up and a professional circuit.
It helps to have 2 pros running around school (Marijn Lybaert and Pascal Vierens, the current National Champ) to make people believe that the game isn't mostly played by 12 year old kids.

[THEchubbymuffin]

Does someone have a link for the free shit? I normally would find it myself, but dial-up + a morass of a shitty site = I can't. Thanks for whatever help I may or nay not receive.

Also, mercenarybdu: I haven't even seen this most recent commercial, but I'm sure you're wrong.

http://www.wizards.com/promo/hereirule/agecheck.aspx

In the official terms it says that it's worth 5$.

[raharu]

Thank you soooo much. Seriously, the new WotC site is a gigantic gay ultimate-grab-ass cluster-fuck. I mean, wtf Wizards? Anyway, thank you again.

[lolosoon]

http://www.wizards.com/promo/hereirule/agecheck.aspx

Damn, no Free Shit for us, foreigners...

But no shitty commercial neither !! Woohooo !!!!!


And, while we're at it :
http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/6255/mtgadlj2.jpg

Doh !

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

One of the fun things about going through PsyOp training was being able to come back and reaffirm what I've always suspected; most people in the marketing business don't have the slightest fucking idea what they're doing.

To get to the core issue, there's basically two camps in the world of advertising.

The first camp believes that advertising should be cold, scientfic and methodical. You identify a target audience and your overall objective. You assess vulnerabilities, needs, desires, and use of mediums, and then you develop a line of persuasion targeted specifically to that audience to get them from point A to point B.

The second method doesn't know what the Hell you're talking about and just wants to make pretty things. These people are mostly failed art majors. This is why major hotel chains advertise by having scantily clad, homoerotic men posing in bondage gear and breathing fire. What does it have to do with staying at a hotel? What crowd could it possibly be targeting that's going to be catching commercials during the daily news program? Who knows. But it's art.

This seems a clear case of the second. What's the target audience? Lonely, isolated emo kids with inordinate fondness for bad prose? What's the line of persuasion? Start playing Magic and you can immediately be good and creative and everyone will respect you? It's like it's designed specifically to haul in quick burnouts who are going to lose three games in a row, get upset at the way a particular rules interaction works when it's pointed out to them, then stalk back to the internet cafe never to play again. Magic is competitive, not cooperative, and it rewards logic and critical thinking, not slam poetry. WTF, Wizards?

[Nihil Credo]

This is why major hotel chains advertise by having scantily clad, homoerotic men posing in bondage gear and breathing fire.
True story?

Anyway, the French should do all commercials: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUqMUHXAqTQ (technically SFW, depending on your boss's prudishness).

Also:

http://adsoftheworld.com/files/images/manix_lubricant.jpg

[DeathwingZERO]

Savage beat on "teh virgins" there, Nihil.

Anyone else see this as a really far stretch at trying to get the MMO players? Talking with friends, playing something like WoW always seems to be akin to another life. When you get in, you are in, and that's that.

That's totally what this commercial felt like. Like you walk around in the real world, then pop out your cards and BOOM!, there you are mingling with Imps and Demons alike.

Man, if this commercial were only released like 10 years ago. Then all those fanatics saying it's a demonic game, etc would have actually had something to grasp at. Now it's just a sad insult.

Also, I had my speakers turned off, so I completely missed out on all the talking. I have to admit, never hearing the voice, it wasn't a terrible commercial. Merely bad. But still, it had plenty of lulz.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Wizards really missed an opportunity. If, instead of halting the demon type and removing pentagrams and shit, they had just gone straight out and made the demonic-occult stuff as blatant as possible. Think of the endless free publicity they could've gotten...

Ah well.

[ParkerLewis]

Anybody seen the new Magic commercial? I just saw it today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbLgtuOhXb4

Not bad in my opinion. Plus, if you go to the website you can sign up for a "free deck". Not sure what that means, but I signed up. I mean... free cards.


What Do I Get? Every Eligible Customer will receive a Magic: The Gathering card deck (Approximate Retail Value: $5
USD) (“Gift”)

Well, an entire deck worth of cards for 5 $ ? Man, get ready to see some serious Squire playsets in there. Well, i guess it is free...

edit : ah, was beaten to it. too bad.

[Elfrago]

Ah, players portraied as egocentric kids with allucinations. Congrats wizards, you've been able to do worse than that "You are a planeswalker..." shit on the website. We really needed this one...

[Mordel]

The super old school mtg commercial that was around before the rhox one was pretty gnarly. Maybe I am manufacturing a memory, but I seem to remember one that was all ghetto heavy metal the movie enimation style(aka: looks like someone drew it with their ass).

That commercial is ******ry in its purest form though.

"Oh yay, now I can write decklists instead of shitty poetry while I crouch in the corner or my dark room and softly cry while listening to Simple Plan"

If I saw that commercial with a non-mtg friend or a CHICK I would actually be quite possibly be mortified. I completely agree with the wizards marketing people trying to sneak into the MMO niche. Oh, a commercial that associates magic players with some ******ty emo kid that flicks his hair out of his eyes every few minutes. Great, even if the commercial doesn't work, good job creating an association between hair flicking emo kids and mtg geeks, biggups WoTC. Why don't you make type two a worse format while you are at it?! Wow, that was fast.Here I rule??!! Because most teens don't already have life by the balls with their easy access to under aged vagina, free rent and reckless drug use?!!! Fuck off.

They should have a commercial with a goyf pulling some passerby and brutally mauling* him with a dumpster hiding the gory scene and then have a link/url to the new players.

This commercial would do several things:

-Offend the shit out of pussies and create controversy

-Do a sort of viral marketing-type thing

-Attract geeks because what geek doesn't want to know what's up with some boss commercial involving some asshole getting mauled by a crazy beast?!

-Scare young children and possibly give them nightmares(because I hate young children...especially when combined with mtg and tournies)

-Give the game its balls back


Damn, now I am all fired-up. I better go release some tension.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Maybe they're plotting to make a Planeswalker-based MMO or TT RPG, in which case this kind of crap would almost be forgivable. Although they should probably wait until they get to that point before attracting the emo kids.

[Peter_Rotten]

I totally need to change someone's title to Here I Rule.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

Gearbear.

[Atwa]

Gearbear.

I was thinking about Herbig myself.

[Pinder]

I was thinking about Herbig myself.

Nah, I vote Gearbear. He'll get more whiny about it.

[freakish777]

most people in the marketing business don't have the slightest fucking idea what they're doing.


http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d128/dark_inchworm/thissc9.jpg

As my friend Kyle likes to say "Marketing Departments exist to give jobs to meth addicts."

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4108/marriottflamingax2.png (http://imageshack.us)

Here, Gearbear rules.

[Jak]

I totally need to change someone's title to Here I Rule.

Mercenarybdu

[sunshine]

Maybe WotC is trying to get more females involved in the game... of the dominatrix variety... hmmm "here I rule"...

[Nihil Credo]

Mercenarybdu

[Elfrago]

Gearbear.

[Lifeless]

They should have a commercial with a goyf pulling some passerby and robbing him at gun point hiding the gory scene amongst the dull roar of complaints from all players.

This commercial would do several things:

-Be very realistic


Fixed

Edit* Now that I think about it, a commercial where you become destitute because of your Magic addiction would be pretty slick. Think Requiem for a Dream.

[Pinder]

On a note other than how much this commercial sucked, did anyone notice that symbol that flashed onscreen near the end? A new set symbol, maybe?

edit - Maybe it's the set symbol they'll put on all the cards in the shitty $5 deck (is that even possible?) cards.

[Ectoplasm]

Back here in Holland we're getting free 'starter sets' after signing up, got myself 3 10th edition precons and 3 10th edition boosters! Gonna give the precons away to friends but I'm keeping the boosterrares, even though they're shit.

Oh well, it can't (always) rain foil peedles :(

[Mulletus]

Great, now I get to play against a new wave of EMO kids like Bryant Cook.

[Swing4Five]

I totally need to change someone's title to Here I Rule.

Bryant?

[socialite]

Bryant?

I second this.

[Mordel]

Fixed
Think Requiem for a Dream.

All I can think of now is goyf saying "Ass to ass." in a surly voice, while the actress whose name I forget, but ultra-hawt follows because she is a depraved junky.

Her eyebrows are far too dramatic and thick though. They lose her the possible rank of mega-hawt.

If we went in such a direction, we might as well just say fuck it and opt for a commercial of Scarlet Johanson rubbing booster packs all over her suddenly seemingly big beeewbs.

[KillemallCFH]

All I can think of now is goyf saying "Ass to ass." in a surly voice, while the actress whose name I forget, but ultra-hawt follows because she is a depraved junky.Jennifer Connelly.

[Mordel]

Schwing.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I'd also like to retract my support for Gearbear. Bryant clearly deserves the title more.


On a side note, you know what are the epitome of cold-hearted, calculated to perfection, advertising evil genius? Late night money-making commercials. The get rich quick on the internet/real estate/times share/etc. crap ones. They just pander so perfectly to their target audience of unemployed, driftless losers sitting on the couch watching tv at 3 in the morning. Every detail is painstakingly crafted, the ridiculous promises perfectly timed and spaced, the lines of persuasion and illusion of effortless wealth pitch-perfect. I mean, yeah, they're evil bastards, but you really have to admire the work and attention to detail that goes into these things. It's hypnotic. Like staring into the darkness at the center of the human soul.

ETA: Serendipity! Scary Go Round touched on the same theme.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2402/20081113sy2.png (http://imageshack.us)

[Lifeless]

It's a good one, but I don't think those are worse than the add for the Free Gold Kit. You know, the one where they try and trick the elderly into sending them their old, useless GOLD they have lying around that they don't use. Because lord knows how much fucking gold I have around the house that I would like to exchange for something valuable like US currency. Also the Reverse Mortgage, that one is a doosy.

[Mordel]

It's a good one, but I don't think those are worse than the add for the Free Gold Kit. You know, the one where they try and trick the elderly into sending them their old, useless GOLD they have lying around that they don't use. Because lord knows how much fucking gold I have around the house that I would like to exchange for something valuable like US currency. Also the Reverse Mortgage, that one is a doosy.

The ad you speak of was probably meant to be only broadcast to people in the Queens and Manhattan area of New York.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I think he means this particular scam (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1731875,00.html).

[Ectoplasm]

I just got myself some starters and I ripped a BoP out of one of the boosters. Free stuff is nice.

[Mordel]

Wait, so they actually send you free shit that doesn't suck?!

--or is free stuff that doesn't suck unique to Eu?

[Pinder]

Wait, so they actually send you free shit that doesn't suck?!

--or is free stuff that doesn't suck unique to Eu?

I think that part of the "free stuff" is booster packs, so technically there's a possibility that you could crack something decent. Which for free is a really good deal, IMO.

[frogboy]

It's a good one, but I don't think those are worse than the add for the Free Gold Kit. You know, the one where they try and trick the elderly into sending them their old, useless GOLD they have lying around that they don't use. Because lord knows how much fucking gold I have around the house that I would like to exchange for something valuable like US currency. Also the Reverse Mortgage, that one is a doosy.

If I'd had gold laying around the house I'd have definitely been selling when it was four digits/oz.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

If you have gold, sell it now.

I'm going to laugh my ass off when that bubble bursts.

"Gold is solid!"

Yeah. So is dog crap.

[Swing4Five]

If you have gold, sell it now.

I'm going to laugh my ass off when that bubble bursts.

"Gold is solid!"

Yeah. So is dog crap.

http://wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=events/magic/worlds08-wingold

[DalkonCledwin]

http://wizards.com/Magic/TCG/Events.aspx?x=events/magic/worlds08-wingold

yeah while I would love to play in that, I would lose my Social Security Disability benefits just for thinking about playing in said tournament :frown:

[Sek'Kuar]

I think that part of the "free stuff" is booster packs

Is there any word on what edition the free stuff is? Im assuming its tenth. Surely they wouldn't send out Alara, Time Spiral, Ravnica, or some oher set, right? Even Odyssey or Onslaught would be amazing. (Torment sells for $4.50 a pack in Cobleskill.)

[Pinder]

Is there any word on what edition the free stuff is? Im assuming its tenth. Surely they wouldn't send out Alara, Time Spiral, Ravnica, or some oher set, right? Even Odyssey or Onslaught would be amazing. (Torment sells for $4.50 a pack in Cobleskill.)

I haven't gotten anything yet, so I have absolutely no idea. I would assume tenth, though.

Has anyone actually gotten their free stuff and can confirm?

[frogboy]

If you have gold, sell it now.

I'm going to laugh my ass off when that bubble bursts.

"Gold is solid!"

Yeah. So is dog crap.

I really have no clue what I'm talking about, but I was under the impression it was countercyclical enough that you can probably justify holding it for value in the current short term.

[Ectoplasm]

I haven't gotten anything yet, so I have absolutely no idea. I would assume tenth, though.

Has anyone actually gotten their free stuff and can confirm?

I guess the free stuff I got is different, since our promotional action is one made especially for the Netherlands I think (not sure on that).
What we got was: Send a mail to some site to sign up, and get a voucher in your mailbox. Print it, and go to one of the many 'Free Record Shop' establishments, show it, and get a blister containing: A 10th edition precon (the monocoloured ones with arcanis, molimo, cho-manno etc), a 10th edition booster and a special rules-page which contains a sample game and stuff like that.

So what I did was print a bunch of them, give a bunch of them to my friends and just drive around a couple of shops to get some packages. The action ended on that day as well, and they had craploads of the sets in stock still, so I don't even have to feel guilty of robbing a potential new player of his free stuff!

Most of the boosters contained crap (which was to be expected) but I got a diabolic tutor and a birds of paradise, and one of my friends got a glorious anthem, which isn't too shabby in itself but rocks since it's free stuff.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I really have no clue what I'm talking about, but I was under the impression it was countercyclical enough that you can probably justify holding it for value in the current short term.

When all the late night infomercials are crammed with commercials aimed at the desperate loser populace screaming what a good deal gold is and advertising gold parties in other crap- in other words, when the money-making potential shifts from gold itself to exploiting people who think gold is a great money making idea but are at the bottom of the exploitation pyramid because they're dumb- that's your signal that the bubble is about to burst. Gold prices have climbed way too high for years because too many people think that gold speculation is super-magically unlike every other form of speculation and invulnerable to overheating.

Mark my words. There'll be people thronging the sheets, sobbing hysterically, "But it's gold! It's solid!"

[hi-val]

I want to see someone send that gold brick in to cash4gold in like a freaking heavy FedEx box...

[Swing4Five]

...There'll be people thronging the sheets..."

oh baby, get on with the thronging in the sheets.

[Phoenix Ignition]

So I got my 2 free boxes yesterday. I must say, they were complete and utter crap. The only playable card I got was a single Ponder, and everything else was just shitty commons and a few uncommons from Lorwyn and 10th. Not even a Vizzerdrix or other rare!

I guess I have more cards to sell in bulk now though.

Oh, but the 2 decks each had 12 lands and 18 cards. That's the worst land ratio ever for a deck that runs completely shitty small cards!

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

oh baby, get on with the thronging in the sheets.

Hey.


Don't you point out my typos.

[Sanguine Voyeur]

[x] gay voiceWow, you must have an amazing Gay-dar(proper noun, by the way) to pick that up. I don't hear any preference at all.

Unless, of course, you're using the word wrong.

[TheInfamousBearAssassin]

I'm not saying I disagree, but I do think it's funny to get defensive about the use of a word that was co-opted in the first place.

I would say that the voice was more sullen and emo than gay and merry myself, though.

[DalkonCledwin]

I got my cards yesterday, they were a red and black deck, with like 40 cards each... nothing but crap commons. Though the shocks in the red deck were a welcome addition to my collection, as were the incinerates.

[Sanguine Voyeur]

I'm not saying I disagree, but I do think it's funny to get defensive about the use of a word that was co-opted in the first place.

I would say that the voice was more sullen and emo than gay and merry myself, though.That thought crossed my mind, but he covered emo already.
[x] emo
[x] teenage
[x] anime
[x] gay voice
[x] "Here I rule!"I don't think something can be merry and emo at the same time.

The word 'emo' appears five times in this post. I don't like this conversation.

[URABAHN]

So I got my 2 free boxes yesterday. I must say, they were complete and utter crap. The only playable card I got was a single Ponder, and everything else was just shitty commons and a few uncommons from Lorwyn and 10th. Not even a Vizzerdrix or other rare!

I guess I have more cards to sell in bulk now though.

Oh, but the 2 decks each had 12 lands and 18 cards. That's the worst land ratio ever for a deck that runs completely shitty small cards!

I'm not sure what you were expecting. As I said earlier, I don't care if they send me 60 Grizzly Bear, I'm all for free Magic cards. Knowing there's a Ponder in there makes the time I spent signing up 12 of my closest friends and family all worth it.

[Fonzy]

It appears it's pretty much just all random from comparing contents of the decks.

[Dark_Shakuras]

Got a Black and a White deck. Opened, looked through, put back in box, and am sending to Thousand Acers (the local orphanage) Some kid will have much more fun casting Holy Strength on his Suntail Hawk more than I will, considering I like flashing back Dread Return for FKZ and smashing FTW!

They are pretty basic, and come with game play rules an all. Looks like it would be a great way to teach a new player, except the rules are bad, and hard to understand. I had trouble reading, and making sence and I have played magic since Tempest.