In a year of high-profile game releases, this trailer for the relatively unknown game Dead Island was by far the most talked about console ad this year. With an innovative 'reverse story telling' premise, the trailer charts the tragic fate of a family caught up in a Zombie outbreak on a tropical paradise (warning: trailer below contains gory violence). Unlike the typical video game ad, which usually focuses on the action and intensity of the gameplay, the Dead Island trailer tells the emotional story of a family destroyed. The trailer generated 8 million views on Youtube, and tens of thousands of likes on Axis Animation’s Facebook page.
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Brand: Techland | Media: Video | Country: US |Sector: Games, Media | Agency: Axis Animation | Format: YouTube
Axis Animation, based in Glasgow, United Kingdom, produced the spot for Polish firm Techland, revealing the spot on February 16th.
Slowed down and played in reverse, the trailer slowly reveals how one of the young zombies became the creature she is.
We watch a man throw her from a window only to find out later that this man was her father.
We watch her attack her father only to see she had been a victim of the same mindless violence. Rather than simply another zombie, the trailer transforms a strangely relatable and sympathetic character.
