In case you've been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you know that there is some sort of sportball event called the 'Superb-owl' this Sunday. This is the annual American tradition of 'too much': drinking, eating, fighting, betting. And 'spending way too much on commercials', which a great many people watch the game simply for that.
Blizzard Employee Talks 2015 Release Dates For Starcraft, Warcraft And More
The commercials are some of the most widely watched - and therefore expensive - spots in the world. This year, one report puts them at $4.5 million PER 30 SECOND SPOT. Thirty seconds. As with all things in this bifurcated economy of ours, it's pretty much only the ones who are already successful who get to advertise. See this Budweiser commercial that everyone has been sharing recently.
But the million dollar price tag is not a deterrent to uCool, a small indie game studio located in Menlo Park. You might not have heard of their F2P MOBA Heroes Charge, but just wait until Monday. The company has ponied up the cash for a 15 second Superbowl commercial ($2.25 million!), and they've gone and released it online.
How To Train Your Dragon...Really Fast: Limited Time Clash Of Clans Event
It dazzles, it excites, there are explosions, villainous monsters and attractive women in clothing that isn't quite battle-ready. Like the Superbowl, this commercial hits all the right buttons for America.
"The Super Bowl has become a national holiday attracting a wide range of demographics," says Tony Cerrato, Marketing Officer of uCool. "In our Big Game spot, we really wanted to show off our colorful characters and appeal to a wide range of users because our player base is evenly split 50/50 between genders, and includes a mix of casual and hardcore gamers. We hope every future player will see something they like in our commercial."
It's a gamble. Heroes Charge is obviously somewhat successful - it's paying for an ad in the Superbowl, but it is still a free to play game that relies less on diversification and more on hooking the big whale. "Unlike others who try to force users to spend money with progress-limiting paywalls, we believe that players will support games that respect their time and money which is why we provide access to all of our game content and upgrades without requiring users to spend a single dollar." said uCool's CEO Lu Lu.
Your mileage may vary. The upper tier VIP levels certainly need money spent to keep up with the other players, but you can log in everyday and find some amusement. Hardcore players should probably stick to Vainglory, however.
Regardless, that's some chutzpah. And a potential victory for uCool. We'll find out this Sunday.
Watch the Superbowl ad below. You can see what all the fuss is about on iOS and Android.