It's a more-than-familiar narrative: At the end of the world, you'll do horrible things to survive. But this new spot from 180 Amsterdam, for the post-apocalyptic PlayStation 3 game The Last of Us, breathes a little new life into the premise.
While the voiceover dips heartily into the clichés of the genre, the visual conceit is powerful. Thanks to some neat effects, a clean-cut—boring-looking, even—live actor transforms into the game's weathered, tortured, machete-wielding CGI protagonist.
That captures the implicit promise of the game: Pick up the controller, and become somebody else—someone stronger and more exciting—for a little while.
In fact, you'll become a hero, as the girl you're traveling with in the game may be the key to curing the human race—an element of the narrative that's oddly not clear in the ad, even though it would bolster the ego play.
Of course, when it's all over, you'll go back to your life of wondering whether that plaid shirt really goes with your khakis, and staring at your computer like a zombie.
CREDITS
Credits: Sony
Agency: 180 Amsterdam
Production Company: Minivegas, @radical
Direction, Postproduction: Minivegas
Grading: Finish
Music: Wave
Executive Creative Director: Al Moseley
Creative Directors: Martin Terhart, Graeme Hall
Art Director: Stephane Lecoq
Copywriter: Martin Beswick
Account Director: Gemma Knox
Account Manager: Simone Raspagni
Project Manager: Meredith Bergonzi
Executive Producer: Brian Bourke
Line Producer: Ralph de Haan
Post Producer: Lauren Becker
3-D Lead: Sergio Pinto Buerba
3-D Artists: Klaas-Harm de Boer, William Torres
Lead Compositor: Sven de Jong
Compositor: Dave Zaretti
Offline Editor: Sander van der Aa