Mixed Martial Arts and WWE star ‘Rowdy’ Ronda Rousey fronts the launch campaign for the new edition of WWE 2K19 as she recreates an iconic moment in the life of her idol Roddy Piper.
The MMA star turned wrestler relives an intense moment from her real-life story in the trailer that opens with Rousey walking into a locker room and hanging the iconic leather jacket of her idol and namesake – WWE Hall of Famer ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper.
As Rousey looks at the jacket, she recalls a conversation she had with Piper years before.
In the audio clip, Piper explains to Rousey why he was passing the torch of the ‘Rowdy’ name to her: “The only thing I want for you is for you to be as successful as you want to be and as happy as you possibly can. You’re going to give so many people hope,” says Piper.
Rousey puts on the jacket and walks towards the ring and her fight.
The spot closes with a call-to-action telling viewers that those pre-order WWE 2K19 can ‘play as Ronda Rousey’.
The voiceover audio was lifted from a 2015 ‘Piper’s Pit’ podcast conducted shortly before Piper’s death later that year.
The spearhead spot debuted on WWE’s ‘Monday Night Raw’ telecast and then began airing nationally on WWE programming,
is amplified across the brand’s digital and social platforms, plus as pre-roll video on WWE and on Google’s True View ad platform,
with further, more direct and purchasing focused supporting content pieces.
The campaign was developed along with BarrettSF,and directed by Wolfbergs and Jake Banks via Golden.
Comment:
This spot is genuinely based on real-life and the Piper family passed the jacket on to Rousey prior to her WWE debut earlier this year.
A surprisingly moving spot: especially considering its commercial context in a sports property usually so slapstick and silly.
Indeed, it’s more akin to a Nike, Beats or Under Armour spot than it is WWE.
Some of our other favourite Rousey campaigns from recent years have included Reebok campaigns such as ‘Perfect Never’ (see case study) and ‘Revolution’ (see case study).
Links:
WWE 2K
https://www.youtube.com/user/WWEGames
https://www.facebook.com/WWEgames/
https://www.instagram.com/wwegames/
BarrettSF
