Dilemma: Danger Zone

The marketing team of Wonder Image Inc are about to launch their latest action video game, Danger Zone, using a series of striking TV commercials with real actors.

The first commercial takes place in an underground car park, where we can see the silhouettes（轮廓）of three people moving in semi-darkness. Then there is a sudden blinding flash as a gun goes off and a young man is heard saying, “This is where I met the two strangers — and I didn’t want to meet them again.”

The storyboard（情节串联图板）for this commercial has been shown to two sample groups — a group of target consumers (12- to 25-year-old males) and a representative group of older viewers.

The reactions of the first group have been extremely positive, but in the second group several people have expressed concerns that the commercial will be too extreme.

The marketing team are worried: If viewers complain to the government’s Advertising Standards Committee (ASC), there is a chance that the commercial could be banned and the launch would be endangered.

 TASK 1

Work in groups. You are members of the marketing team and you now have to decide what to do about the launch of Danger Zone. Among the options that you can consider are the following:

• cancel the first commercial and delay the launch until a new storyline can be developed (you can suggest ideas for this)

• contact the ASC to see if the commercial can be shown after 10 pm

• go ahead with the launch of the campaign without changing anything

• radically alter the campaign and choose an alternative method of advertising the game

TASK 2

Meet with another group and discuss your decision about the launch.

TASK 3

As a class, review the solutions proposed by each group and agree on the one that the class thinks would work best.