EA Sports Takes Madden to the Movies

Electronic Arts is back with a new campaign though creative agency HEAT for the eagerly awaited, upcoming realease of Madden NFL 16.

Following last year’s hilarious hit music video (down the page) featuring Dave Franco and Kevin Hart, this year’s offering takes shape as a trailer for a long form action movie with Franco appearing once again, this time alongside Christopher-Mintz Plasse as the pair embark on a team mission to beat their Madden rival.

Having picked up multiple Cannes Lions for their campaigns over the six years they've worked together, EA and HEAT continue to serve up a combination of top entertainment and shareable content to promote the game makers products and this latest work is set to be a sure-fire hit to follow suit.

Below, Dana Marineau (below), vice president, global creative team, Electronic Arts tells us what it is about the partnership that makes the work shine and how the Madden brand has evolved and seeks to cut through in a cluttered online environment.

What was the intention with the campaign this year?

Madden the Movie is a celebration of Madden Season, when friends become rivals and NFL excitement is at a fever pitch. This time around we wanted to take the idea of a Madden rivalry to an epic new place. No better way than to create an over-the-top action movie starring some of the NFL’s biggest playmakers.

In truth, our strategy for Madden centres on creating something that our fans will truly love and want to be a part of. The creative is a reflection of our audience and the world they live in - we understand that we have to work extra hard for their attention and our competition is just about any form of entertainment. Last year’s Madden Season creative introduced Madden to a whole new generation of football fans and gamers. This year our goal is to tell an incredible story that our current and future players will want to share.

And what did the initial conversations with HEAT entail to try to achieve that?

HEAT has done an incredible job pushing us to take smart risks with the Madden brand. And this idea - Madden the Movie - certainly takes Madden into new and exciting places. We think now is the perfect opportunity to have fun with our brand and put content into the world that our fans will love. It’s certainly a journey to get here. Madden is a 27 year old brand, so you have to have the cultural relevance and credibility to tell stories like this. But even with all the over-the-top action, the story itself is just a simple tale about Dave Franco assembling a team of heroic NFL playmakers to help him defeat his Madden rival. Nothing out of the ordinary for us.

Last year’s Madden Season campaign was a hilarious piece of content. Why did you choose to run with the comedic theme once again and why do you think it resonates with the consumer?

We are so incredibly proud of the original Madden Season creative. Not only was it the most highly-viewed piece of creative EA has ever made, but the campaign won eight Cannes Lions including a gold Lion for Branded Content and Entertainment. That campaign felt bigger than just making ads for Madden NFL 15 - we created truly unique content that fans talked about and shared long after its release. 

Our strategy for Madden continues to centre on creating stories that our fans will want to share. We think this is how the smartest brands are telling stories these days— making accessible, relatable content that can be shared across a variety of channels. As such, we continue to break away from some of our traditional distribution methods.

Madden the Movie was built for sharing on the internet. Not only did we build this long form commercial, we also built specific pieces of creative for every type of distribution channel. Auto-play ads for Facebook, DON’T SKIP ads for YouTube, relevant ads for Instagram, Vine, Twitter, etc. We wanted to create a piece of Madden culture - an epic movie trailer - and put it right where our audience really lives and shares content.

Actors play another interesting part with Dave Franco the key man once again; tell us a bit about the strategy to tap into celebrity talent and his profile in order to get the message out there…

Great question. Dave Franco and Christopher-Mintz Plasse are so talented. Our agency HEAT created an amazing story and script and then Dave and Chris just added little things here and there to take it to the next level. They are close friends in real life, so their on-screen chemistry was genuine and hilarious. They are also huge Madden fans, so having them star in a blockbuster movie about Madden made perfect sense.

The game will naturally do well year on year due to the loyal fan base and player, so why do you think you have to keep raising the bar creatively with each campaign?

Madden does have a loyal player base, yes. We are always grateful to those fans who have been with us for years and we seek to create a piece of entertainment for them that reinforces their love for the brand. But we also strive to introduce this amazing game to a wider and younger audience. Our original Madden Season creative helped us do so in a significant manner, so our spot this year just continues that momentum.

How much of a testament to the game is it that its release is considered the unofficial kick-off to the real season?

We agree that Madden is the unofficial kick-off to the NFL season! The game continues to delight fans and has absolutely become part of sports conversation and pop culture. This year’s game, Madden NFL 16, focusses on being a playmaker on and off the field.

Why do you think EA’s relationship with HEAT has worked so well over the years and continues to keep the momentum?

Our relationship with HEAT is a special one. They aren’t just our advertising agency - they are our business partners and as passionate about our games and our players as we are. We have had an amazing partnership with them over the last six years. They are a wildly talented group of creative thinkers and we are thankful for all their hard work and dedication to our brands.