LOS ANGELES – A controversial television ad, called “People Play Real Life Duty,” advertising Activision’s new “Call of Duty Black Ops” video game, is receiving a polarizing reaction from male and female viewers. According to Ace Metrix™, the creative lifecycle management company, the ad, featuring a montage of real people engaged in simulated video game gunfire, registered a 277 point difference between male and female viewers. Male viewers, age 16-20, gave the ad an Ace Score™ of 770 (out of total of 950) and female viewers, age 36-49, scored the ad 518. With an overall Ace Score of 644, the ad scored almost 70 points above the video game category norm of 576. The ad also features a cameo of pro basketball star Kobe Bryant and “Gimme Shelter” by the Rolling Stones as its soundtrack.
Selected consumer comments tell the story. A 16-20-year-old male said, “Epic! I’m loving it, I’m getting it”; while a 36-49-year-old female said, “Enough with the violent video games! Enough violence in this world, we don’t NEED more!”
‘This ad definitely caught people’s attention, having recorded one of the highest attention scores that we’ve seen. The ad did better among males than females, but females under 35 still reacted positively. Women thirty-five and older did not like the ad, with many commenting about the violence, but then again they aren’t likely to be in the market for war-based video games,” commented Peter Daboll, chief executive of Ace Metrix.
To view the ad, please click here: http://www.youtube.com/user/AceMetrix
Following is the complete Ace Score™ breakdown:
Measure Ace Score
Video Game
Norm
Ace Score 644 576
Persuasion 672 618
Watchability 638 606
Likeability 714 647
Information 617 601
Attention 755 668
Change 660 634
Relevance 654 591
Desire 673 614
About Ace Metrix
Ace Metrix, the creative lifecycle management company, enables marketers, brand managers and advertisers to measure and manage the full creative lifecycle of their campaigns from idea to in-market optimization. For the first time, Ace Metrix delivers actionable analytics and competitive intelligence based on the scientific measurement of television advertising creative effectiveness. Featuring the patent-pending Ace Score, advertisers and brand managers can make critical creative decisions and strategically adjust media schedules in near real-time. Ace Metrix works with leading advertisers including Big Lots, Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp., Con Agra, Nissan North America and others. For more information please see www.acemetrix.com.
