30-Second Spot Introduces 100M Viewers to Hell in Fourth Quarter of
Super Bowl XLIV
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb 01, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- As the New Orleans Saints make their Super Bowl debut, so too does
Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS). On Sunday February 7th, EA will air its
first-ever Super Bowl commercial as part of the massive marketing
program for the company's newest videogame franchise, Dante's
Inferno. On Super Bowl Sunday, EA will invite 100 million football
fans to join Dante on an adventure that spans all nine punishing circles
of Hell; limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud
and treachery. The hell-raising 30-second spot entitled "Hell Awaits..."
premieres during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIV broadcast on CBS
on Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010. Dante's Inferno from EA will be in
stores on February 9, 2010.
EA - a leading interactive entertainment software company - will use the
Super Bowl as a platform to expose nearly 100 million viewers to Dante's
Inferno within the coveted 18-34 year old male demographic. EA joins
perennial advertisers Anheuser-Busch and Mazda as well as newcomers to
the Super Bowl advertising scene such as Time Warner cable channel
TruTV, Sprint Nextel's Boost Mobile and Kia Motors.
"Even within the spectrum of live sports events, the Super Bowl stands
apart, almost as a national holiday," said Frank Gibeau, president at
EA. "The Super Bowl is a bull's-eye in terms of cross-over to our core
demographic and the reach is outstanding. Not only does it draw 100M
viewers, but most people watch the Super Bowl live, a rarity in the
world of DVRs. While digital outreach to Facebook, Twitter, and online
bloggers is a core part of our marketing strategy, we felt that
advertising during the Super Bowl is an excellent way to introduce this
new game to a massive cross-section of people who are likely already
familiar with the "Divine Comedy. Inspired by a classic, but
perfect for today's action gamer. This is entertainment at its best."
EA's Super Bowl ad caps off a breakthrough marketing campaign crafted to
cut through the noise and attract core action/adventure fans to this
all-new videogame property. With a focus on engaging players, EA used
digital media, bloggers and social networking to build the Dante's
Inferno marketing campaign. The company brought the tagline "Go to
Hell" to life using several innovative programs:
- 'Go to Hell' Facebook App - This free app takes the poem's nine
circles of hell, and brings them into everyday life. With the click of
a button, anyone can send a friend, foe, place, product or brand to
one of the nine circles of hell. Angry at your mom for grounding you?
Send her to 'Treachery'. Mad at your ex- for cheating? Send them to
'Lust'.
- Special Edition Book - EA is releasing a special edition of "The
Divine Comedy" in partnership with Random House and Del Rey Books.
The book features an introduction written by the EA executive producer
Jonathan Knight, and a 16-page, full-color art insert showcasing the
evolution of characters and environments from the classic poem to the
video game.
- Animated DVD Feature - EA is releasing a full-length animated
feature developed in partnership with Starz Media, Film Roman, and
Anchor Bay Entertainment. The movie features six unique art styles
created by six of the best animation studios in the business
(DVD/Blu-Ray).
- Comic Book - An exclusive six-issue comic miniseries created by
DC Comics/WildStorm Productions featuring the highly stylized artwork
of Diego Latorre and written by esteemed comic book writer Christo
Gage.
- Collectible Action Figure - A collectible figurine of the hero
Dante created by NECA, available as a pre-order bonus at select
retailers and for sale beginning 2/9/10.
- Dante's Nine Circles Hit the Blogosphere - Beginning in June
2009 at E3, EA brought the game's nine circles of hell to bloggers,
one month at a time. "Limbo" was illustrated with a mock protest.
"Greed" was illustrated by bloggers being asked to cash a check for
$200. "Heresy" was demonstrated through a fictitious game called "Mass
We Pray". Each stunt set fans buzzing about the core themes of 'The
Divine Comedy' and Dante's Inferno, the game.
- Hidden Messages-Dante's Inferno online
advertising will contain hidden source code and ASCII art, further
bringing to life the world of Dante's Inferno and the hell that
lies beneath.
Inspired by the first part of 'The Divine Comedy' written by 13th
Century Italian poet Dante Alighieri, EA's Dante's Inferno,
delivers a unique visual representation of the nine circles of Hell,
once only experienced in the pages of the timeless classic. Dante's
Inferno offers a fully animated experience in which players assume
the role of Dante, who descends into Hell after returning home to find
his beloved Beatrice murdered, with Lucifer seducing her soul into the
underworld. As in the poem, players will descend through Dante's unique
nine circles of Hell: limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy,
violence, fraud and treachery. Each circle will showcase distinct
environments, enemies and story elements befitting of the sins committed
by their inhabitants. Developed by Visceral Games(TM), Dante's
Inferno delivers fast, fluid and responsive combat at 60 frames per
second -- a must-have for the action adventure genre.
Dante's Inferno is available for the PlayStation(R)3 computer
entertainment system and Xbox 360(R) videogame and entertainment system
beginning February 4th in Europe and on February 9th
in North America. Dante's Inferno is rated M for mature and has
an MSRP of $59.95. For more information on Dante's Inferno,
please follow Dante's Inferno on Twitter at www.twitter.com/danteteam,
and visit the game's official web site at www.dantesinferno.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is
the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded
in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive
software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, cellular
handsets and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under
four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA SPORTS
FreestyleTM and POGOTM. In fiscal 2008, EA posted
GAAP net revenue of $3.67 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than
one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com.
More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can
be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS Freestyle, and POGO are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other
countries. Wii is a trademark of Nintendo. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective owners.
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SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.
Electronic Arts Inc.
Amanda Taggart, 650-628-2974
Senior Manager of PR
ataggart@ea.com
Devin Bennett, 650-628-7127
Senior Publicist
devinb@ea.com
Tammy Schachter, 650-828-7223
Senior Director of PR
tschachter@ea.com
or
Fleishman-Hillard for EA
Alexa Waltz, 415-318-4110
awaltz@fleishman.com
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