Halo Wars 2 "Armrest" (2017) 1:00 (USA)

"Know your enemy" is the message in this goofy Halo Wars 2 spot that takes the game into the real world. In this case General Atriox and Captain Cutter battle for the use of the arm rest. Cutter uses ever weapon at his disposal, from stinky food to the rotten kicking kid in the row behind. But Atriox one ups him in the end by letting him know "I licked the arm rest before you got here. Twice." War is hell, isn't it? I appreciate the fact they took this out of the video game land because video game advertising tends to be so formulaic. You think you are able to do something fun because it is a game after all, but 80% of the time you're just showing game footage. Which is not to say you can't subvert the formula, like when Activision used a broken camera rig to let SNL's Pete Davidson run wild in this snarky spot for Destiny's DLC, The Dark Below. But that's an exception to the rule. And while something like The Dark Below was meant for hard core gamers as opposed to casual ones, you have to assume for something like Halo Wars 2 any core gamer already knows about it. For the rest of the demographic who aren't studying game-specfic sub reddits for days on end, a spot like this that provides some situational humor and a concept is more than enough to pique our interest.

Halo Wars 2; The Sale & Armrest

Agency: 215MCCANN
Chief Creative Officer: Scott Duchon
Creative Director: Neil Bruce
Senior Art Director: Alper Kologlu
Copywriter: Kyle Davis
Executive Producer: Brandon Romer
Producer: Sarah Sweeney
Director of Business Affairs: Mary Beth Barney
Business Director: Peter Goldstein
Account: Drew Porter; Kevin John; Armando Melendez
Director of Strategy: Brian Wakabayashi
Brand Strategist: Ryan Ouyoumjian

Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Randy Krallman
Executive Producers: Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody, Shannon Jones
Chief Operating Officer: Andrew Colon
Line Producer: Ian Blain
Director of Photography: Darko Suvak

VFX Studio: Electric Theatre Collective
Executive Producer: Kate Hitchings
Lead Flame: Eric Mason
Producer: Scott Boyajan
2D Artists: Gretchen Capatan, Kevin Jones, Dave Damant
Graphic Animation: Adam Singer

Editorial: Cartel
Editor: Andy McGraw
Assistant Editor: Matt Berardi
Head of Production: Meagen Carroll
Executive Producer: Lauren Bleiweiss
Managing Director: Marc Altshuler

Telecine: Company 3
Executive Producer: Ashley McKim
Colorist: Dave Hussey
Color Producer: Liza Kerlin
Color Assistant: Jim Harmon

Sound Designer: Brian Emrich

Recording Studio: Lime Studios
Mixer: Jeff Malen
Executive Producer: Susie Boyajan