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Bandai Namco releases a unique advertisement for Dark Souls 3 that uses the ‘Sad Ben Affleck’ footage from when the actor was promoting Batman v Superman .
By now, many people have seen the “Sad Ben Affleck” video, which stems from an interview the actor was giving alongside Batman v Superman co-star Henry Cavill, in which the pair were asked about their reaction to the film’s negative reviews. In the video, Cavill speaks at length about Batman v Superman ‘s poor critical reception, whereas Ben Affleck sits silently, with a sad expression on his face, as Simon and Garfunkel’s depressing song “The Sound of Silence” plays in the background.
Bandai Namco has decided to capitalize on the popularity of the “Sad Ben Affleck” video by creating a version that can be used to promote Dark Souls 3 . In Bandai Namco’s version, Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck are asked to recall their memories of the original Dark Souls , and then footage is added to make it appear as though Affleck is having flashbacks to dying numerous times in the game.
See Sad Ben Affleck think about his time with the first Dark Souls game during a faux interview about Dark Souls 3 right here:
When you really think about how much you've enjoyed #DarkSoulsover the years. https://t.co/eNadvNR8UL
— Dark Souls (@DarkSoulsGame) April 7, 2016As far as Dark Souls 3 advertisements go, this one is pretty funny and unique, but it’s not even the weirdest way Bandai Namco has promoted the game so far. Besides relying on traditional promotional tactics like Dark Souls 3 gameplay trailers, the company has also hosted a Dark Souls 3 hot wing eating contestto advertise the game.
Having said that, this Sad Ben Affleck video is a bit cleverer than the hot wing eating contest, as it plays on the franchise’s reputation of being “hard” compared to other video games. This reputation has led to players going to extraordinary lengths to tackle challenges in the series in strange ways, such as a player that defeated the first boss in Dark Souls 3 using only his fists.
At any rate, this type of marketing that plays on popular Internet memes like Sad Ben Affleck will likely become more common moving forward. Using humor has always been an effective marketing tool, and it’s even more effective when it plays on a popular trend, like Batman v Superman and Sad Ben Affleck. Whether or not Sad Ben Affleck thinking about Dark Souls will result in more copies of Dark Souls 3 being sold remains to be seen, but one has to credit Bandai Namco for thinking outside the box when it comes to marketing the game.
Dark Souls 3 will be available on April 12 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: GameSpot