Activision’s lack of branding in Call of Duty Vanguard is a “creative decision”

My name is Guy Incognito

This weekend sees the arrival of the first playable alpha for this year’s entry into the billion dollar Call of Duty franchise, The vanguard of the call of duty. While preloads are now available on PlayStation platforms, those that start the WWII shooter (as the Cod insiders to Charlie Intel) were completely and utterly baffled as to which major publisher is putting the new sequel on the shelves, given the Avant-gardethe persistent choice to give up the brand image of its publisher.

Of course, I am quite facetious. Call of Duty is, notoriously, the biggest brand in Activision’s portfolio – a simple fact the company has been proud of for over a decade now. However, in the trailer for Call of Duty Avant-garde, the pre-order page of the following, and the incoming alpha title screen, Activision chose not to print its company name in a readable format – a very anti-Activision move that the publisher described to Stephen Tolito of Axios Gaming as a “creative choice“.

This has naturally led to a lot of eye rolling within the industry. It doesn’t take much weighting to come up with the opinion that Activision – currently embroiled in a very miserable harassment and discrimination lawsuit through its Blizzard Entertainment affiliate – is choosing to have its cake and eat it, too. Promoting its highest-grossing release of the year is vital for the publisher, but he remains aware that the company name currently carries a deserved burden.

It’s not so much the act of not displaying the brand that raises my eyebrows, but rather the idea that we all have to believe after decades to splash his face everywhere Call of Duty franchise, that this This is the year the creative decision was made to remove the Activision brand from marketing materials. In fact, one could argue that the choice facilitated what is commonly referred to as the Streisand effect, ironically bringing even more beware of the situation than it would have if Activision had not presented its typical ad nauseum branding. Some, of course, could go even further, suggesting that all attention is good attention, and so this whole “creative decision” debacle is actually a crass but brilliant marketing ploy. We are through the looking glass, the people, etc.

In any respect, The vanguard of the call of duty will launch in November and sell gangbusters. It is capitalism. And an inescapable truth whether or not Activision displays its name on marketing. Millions of dollars will come in – that’s for sure – and the best that can be hoped for is that Activision Blizzard will be held accountable for the accusations of its employees by the courts, ultimately creating a much safer, more respectful and healthier job. . environment for those responsible for tirelessly creating the very products that make millions of dollars.