Article: New Diablo 4 Live-Action Trailer Captures Actual Mural Painted in French Church

[Stoy]

New Diablo 4 live-action trailer captures actual mural painted in French Church
Diablo 4 has released a new Live-action trailer for the beta, complete with a sweepstakes to be added to the real mural in France.

[Vellus]

Honestly kind of a neat idea. Bizarre, but neat.

[bluesock]

I appreciate the effort they put in the marketing, if only they put just as much in the actual game.

[korijenkins]

I appreciate the effort they put in the marketing, if only they put just as much in the actual game.

Yeah I kinda grimace when I see stunts like this now. All the things they could be spending money on and they choose this. How many people will it really convince to purchase the game that weren't already going to do so? How many people who aren't going to purchase the game atm have even seen it?

Reminds me of car commercials during the Super Bowl. Millions of dollars to film them, then millions to air them, surely no one is making a decision to buy a car because of a commercial, so how is it profitable or sane?

[Lolsteak]

Artwork, Cinematics and advertising is always damn good quality from Blizzard, Can't fault it.

Charles Dance also does a great voice over

[Biomega]

Reminds me of car commercials during the Super Bowl. Millions of dollars to film them, then millions to air them, surely no one is making a decision to buy a car because of a commercial, so how is it profitable or sane?

There's two options here, really.

1. These billion-dollar companies who have teams of dozens or even hundreds of people with years of experience and professional qualifications in marketing and consumer influencing are all a bunch of idiots who can't see the obvious truth that no one will buy a car because of a commercial.

or

2. Some forum rando with no qualifications or industry knowledge of any kind just doesn't understand what they're talking about

Time will have to tell which one of the two it is, I admit it's a tough one to figure out.

[MiiiMiii]

Looking more and more forward to this game, always good footage, interviews are spot on and really just solid systems announced gearing etc.

Even though the lead dev (Joe Shely) looks way too young to be in such a powerfull position (no hate, he seems passionate and like a good fit). Dude looks like he is a collage student intern. Good genes I guess.

[nulian84]

Looking more and more forward to this game, always good footage, interviews are spot on and really just solid systems announced gearing etc.

Even though the lead dev (Joe Shely) looks way too young to be in such a powerfull position (no hate, he seems passionate and like a good fit). Dude looks like he is a collage student intern. Good genes I guess.

He works already for 18 years at blizzard.

[Flame6]

Yeah I kinda grimace when I see stunts like this now. All the things they could be spending money on and they choose this. How many people will it really convince to purchase the game that weren't already going to do so? How many people who aren't going to purchase the game atm have even seen it?

Reminds me of car commercials during the Super Bowl. Millions of dollars to film them, then millions to air them, surely no one is making a decision to buy a car because of a commercial, so how is it profitable or sane?

I get it. It seems totally useless. Just like folks out there spending millions on buying data and crafting an ad profile. When's the last time you bought something because of an ad?

Either advertising is the biggest farce ever, or its highly effective and the laymen just doesnt seen it's effect.

[Mysterymask]

Today on people who don't understand marketing try to screm their expertise on marketing

[vizzle]

Of course these commercials do nothing for you people who frequent a niche Blizzard game forum on a regular basis. But there's a reason why tens of millions are budgeted for commercials and other marketing efforts like these; because they work. Not for you guys who are already clearly interested in Blizzard, but for everyone else.

Marketing budgets and game development budgets aren't connected at all.

[twothe]

The new concept seems to be to bore us so much with the trailers that we fall asleep, and accidentally buy the game sleepwalking.

[exochaft]

I get it. It seems totally useless. Just like folks out there spending millions on buying data and crafting an ad profile. When's the last time you bought something because of an ad?

Either advertising is the biggest farce ever, or its highly effective and the laymen just doesnt seen it's effect.

There's sort of a diachotomy when it comes to advertising, as sometimes marketing decisions are made on sound judgements and analytics... other times, is based upon old fashioned emotions and people trying to justify their own existence living in their own bubble.

While I couldn't tell you how prevalent such a practice is, executives lying to each other to justify their own jobs and existence is not unheard of, even when it comes to marketing. Basically, it's a circle jerk where everyone's essentially lying to each other, similar to how people envision the 'good ol' boys' bragging about their exploits with everyone know each other isn't being fully truthful but no one wants to call it out. While it seems insanely stupid and childish that this could happen on a corporate executive level... it is insanely childish and stupid, but it does happen. Again, I couldn't tell you how prevalent such behavior is, but I do know it happens enough that it's not really a secret.

It ultimately comes down to humans acting like humans, who would rather live a lie than admit their own failures. I have no doubts that people who tend towards powerful positions are more likely to value their status and power to the point where it wouldn't be totally absurd that they'd do anything to preserve their status and power. While most people tend to focus on CEO's and the like, middle management is not exempt from this behavior... technically lower management isn't either, but middle/upper management likely keep a lockdown on such things in an effort to preserve their own butts. What usually causes the house of cards to fall is either money issues force the issue out into the open or someone outs the situation completely (whether in an attempt at self-preservation or actually having a conscious). This is how you get stories of corporations who seem to be doing well suddenly collapse overnight, as it's usually a case of such human behavior.

Anyways, the other angle is that government money (and by extension accounting methods) also off-set such expenses for advertisements. There's a reason that all the auto commercials in the US are heavily pushing electric vehicles (before that it was hybrids): it's not because they care about environmental issues, it's because there's a lot of government funding to push such issues combined with mandates to meet certain criterion, usually with money attached to it. Furthermore, you can tie all this into ESG standards, but that's a whole other conversation.

All this being said, this D4 commercial is obviously not an example of massive corruption... if it was, I'd be insanely shocked. How effective will it be? Who knows. What I can tell you is that most commercials Blizz puts out are probably not geared towards people who are already Diablo or Blizz customers, as they're the most likely to purchase D4 and don't need a commercial incentive. In fact, I'd say the deluxe editions of D4 are more geared towards existing customers in an effort to get more money out of them.

[sensei-]

There's sort of a diachotomy when it comes to advertising, as sometimes marketing decisions are made on sound judgements and analytics... other times, is based upon old fashioned emotions and people trying to justify their own existence living in their own bubble.

While I couldn't tell you how prevalent such a practice is, executives lying to each other to justify their own jobs and existence is not unheard of, even when it comes to marketing. Basically, it's a circle jerk where everyone's essentially lying to each other, similar to how people envision the 'good ol' boys' bragging about their exploits with everyone know each other isn't being fully truthful but no one wants to call it out. While it seems insanely stupid and childish that this could happen on a corporate executive level... it is insanely childish and stupid, but it does happen. Again, I couldn't tell you how prevalent such behavior is, but I do know it happens enough that it's not really a secret.

It ultimately comes down to humans acting like humans, who would rather live a lie than admit their own failures. I have no doubts that people who tend towards powerful positions are more likely to value their status and power to the point where it wouldn't be totally absurd that they'd do anything to preserve their status and power. While most people tend to focus on CEO's and the like, middle management is not exempt from this behavior... technically lower management isn't either, but middle/upper management likely keep a lockdown on such things in an effort to preserve their own butts. What usually causes the house of cards to fall is either money issues force the issue out into the open or someone outs the situation completely (whether in an attempt at self-preservation or actually having a conscious). This is how you get stories of corporations who seem to be doing well suddenly collapse overnight, as it's usually a case of such human behavior.

Anyways, the other angle is that government money (and by extension accounting methods) also off-set such expenses for advertisements. There's a reason that all the auto commercials in the US are heavily pushing electric vehicles (before that it was hybrids): it's not because they care about environmental issues, it's because there's a lot of government funding to push such issues combined with mandates to meet certain criterion, usually with money attached to it. Furthermore, you can tie all this into ESG standards, but that's a whole other conversation.

All this being said, this D4 commercial is obviously not an example of massive corruption... if it was, I'd be insanely shocked. How effective will it be? Who knows. What I can tell you is that most commercials Blizz puts out are probably not geared towards people who are already Diablo or Blizz customers, as they're the most likely to purchase D4 and don't need a commercial incentive. In fact, I'd say the deluxe editions of D4 are more geared towards existing customers in an effort to get more money out of them.

Look at this forum rando who spends hours chatting with kids and incels on a niche game forum explaining everyone the inner psychology of billion dollar company executives. Good one man, keep it up.

[Steelcryo]

I get it. It seems totally useless. Just like folks out there spending millions on buying data and crafting an ad profile. When's the last time you bought something because of an ad?

Either advertising is the biggest farce ever, or its highly effective and the laymen just doesnt seen it's effect.

Advertising is insanely powerful. I absolutely guarantee you've been influenced to buy things due to adverts, but just haven't realised. Humans naturally prefer familiarity, so if you go to buy something new and have the choice between a brand you've never heard of or a brand you've seen around, you're much more likely to buy from the brand you're familiar with.

In terms of the car adverts you originally suggested, they're not just advertising the model of car in the advert, they're advertising their brand. The more you see it, the more it becomes familiar. So maybe you won't go to buy the brand new model they've just released and spent millions advertising, but maybe you'll go to a second hand dealer and go for one of their brand. Which then makes the dealership see their brand as more valuable as it sells more, so the dealership then prefers to get in those cars, which increases familiarity of people even more until eventually the people that do buy brand new cars go for the car that was in the advert, which means then there's more of those cars around and becoming second hand, which means the dealership gets more of them. Eventually maybe you'll buy one in the future, because they're really familiar to you and you trust things that are familiar, even though you never saw the original adverts themselves, but if everyone else likes them they must be good, right?

Advertising isn't just "buy this specific product" it's way more influential than that. People love to think they aren't affected by adverts, but I promise you that you are in some way even if it's indirectly through society. Adverts can literally influence what society as a whole decides to like.

[Throghar85]

As a catholic I do not approve this