Metro Last Light
A live-action trailer led launch campaign for the sequel to a cult classic, built to break the franchise out of its existing fanbase and into the mainstream.
Campaign & Content Strategy • Live-Action Trailer Concept & Script • Copywriting & Campaign Tagline • Out-of-Home Advertising
The Brief
THQ engaged specialist video game agency, ICHI Worldwide to handle the campaign for Metro: Last Light, the sequel to the critically acclaimed Metro 2033.
The exact words from their marketing team: “Give us something BIG!”
The Problem
Metro 2033 had been well received by critics and performed solidly, but it hadn’t broken through to a mainstream audience. For the sequel to significantly outperform it, we couldn't rely on the built-in fanbase alone. We needed to reach AAA gamers who had no existing connection to the story, the world or the characters.
The Solution
My creative director and I agreed that the answer was the origin story. The moments before the nuclear attack that created Metro's nightmarish post-apocalyptic world and the emergence of its central hero, Artyom. A story nobody had told yet, and one that could hook a new audience without requiring any prior knowledge of the franchise.
We knew animation wouldn't cut it. Going BIG meant live action. To our delight (and, frankly, amazement), THQ agreed.
In February 2012, we travelled to Kyiv, home of game developer 4A, and spent three days and nights shooting in -26 degree conditions, including on the tracks of the city's own underground metro system.
The result was a film that felt as cinematic as anything the games industry had produced.
Metro Last Light Announcement Trailer | Concept • Script • Production
We followed the Announcement Trailer with a series of Survivor Stories. These were short films deepening engagement for existing fans while drawing new audiences into the world through the lives of characters dealing with life in the Metro.
I also devised the campaign line for the game's out-of-home advertising: "Last Bullet. Last Breath. Last Chance." It ran across major format billboards at E3 – the industry's premier games conference – where it had to hold its own against every other major publisher's launches. THQ backed it as the line for the campaign.
The Outcome
First-week retail sales of Metro: Last Light in the US surpassed lifetime retail sales of Metro 2033.
Silver and two Bronze, London International Awards 2012
Best Broadcast Campaign, US Game Connection Marketing Awards 2013
4 million YouTube views in four days
Described by VG247 as "probably the best video game related live action trailer ever made"
Inspired its own fan-made stop motion LEGO tribute
Making Of video | Script • Production
LEGO Fan Film
