Brand Week revealed today that Ubisoft will spend US$10 million to advertise Shaun White Snowboarding. Primary among these promotions is a media buy of the South Park season premiere, with the first episode featuring two-minute spots for the company's Prince of Persia, Farcry 2 and Shaun White Snowboarding. The second South Park episode will exclusively feature Shaun White Snowboarding ads.
"It's the first time they are going to see the game, so we wanted to give them a nice grasp of what it looks like," said Danny Ruiz, associate director of brand marketing, Ubisoft, San Francisco. "This is a better alternative to running a bunch of 30-second ads that piss people off because they've seen them so many times."
Further promotions for Shaun White Snowboarding will include ESPN appearances by White on November 16. On November 19, there will be a "White Out" where Viacom-owned MTV, Spike, and Comedy Central will all simultaneously air a two-minute trailer for the game. TV spots for Shaun White Snowboarding will also air during NFL games and Family Guy episodes in a campaign dubbed "See you on the mountain," by the San Francisco agency Cutwater.
"We're not sure what the return-on-investment will be, but if we follow the traditional route, it will bore our audience," said Ruiz.
Ubisoft ran a similar campaign last year for Assassin's Creed.
Screenshots: Shaun White Snowboarding
