- Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2019
Dell Blue, the internal creative agency for Dell, recently created a thrilling :60 spot for Alienware, a provider of premium gaming laptops and desktops. Centered around the tagline “Everything Counts,” the spot features a cast of real-life gamers headlined by Yiliang “Peter” Peng a.k.a. Doublelift, a professional League of Legends player who currently plays for esports organization Team Liquid. In addition, it captures the most critical insights from a competitive PC gaming and esports perspective while beautifully communicating the entire Alienware setup (PC, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and headset). The spot is airing on broadcast, online, and social.
Helmed by acclaimed film and commercial director Tony Kaye, “Everything Counts” captures the high-octane experience of gaming through the perspective of pro gamers who rely on Alienware when every click and every second count toward victory. Combining 3D animation and a series of frenetically cut close-ups of each gamer in their element, the spot concludes, "When the difference between winning and losing is measured in milliseconds. Every click, every frame, every sound, every advantage... everything counts."
“The ‘Everything Counts’ campaign is a masterpiece created by our Dell Blue team,” says Alejandro Madrid, VP -- Global Marketing Consumer and Small Business at Dell. “This is the first time in Alienware history that we launch not only a PC, but also an entire ecosystem, so it was crucial to showcase all of its components. Dell Blue did an amazing job of capturing everything Alienware offers in a very simple yet compelling way while emphasizing the human element to generate an emotional connection with the customer. The campaign is already paying dividends with massive positive social media engagement in our early reads.”
For the Dell Blue team, led by Group Creative Director Seth Perisho, the goal was to demonstrate how Alienware gives gamers an advantage in every detail of gameplay. The team achieved this by focusing the narrative on capturing the visceral experience of real gamers using Alienware, rather than highlighting the technical specs of each product in the ecosystem.
“Our philosophy at Dell Blue is to show the human advantage of our amazing technology,” says Perisho. “We interviewed Team Liquid members, as well as casual gamers, so we could better understand what they look for in the gear they use -- and where Alienware excels. What united both groups is its performance, responsiveness, and ease of use. Tony [Kaye] was instrumental in making this concept work, as he elicited raw emotion out of the talent through the live-action. Our design and animation partners then underscored his direction with vibrant visual enhancements that call subtle attention to the key technical features of Alienware.”
“The gaming audience cares about different things than the traditional audience for technology,” concludes Perisho. “That’s why we’re capturing the emotional importance of Alienware’s performance in such a compelling, visceral way.”
Client: Alienware
Project: “Everything Counts”
Ad Agency: Dell Blue/Austin, TX
Executive Creative Director: Seth Perisho, Associate Creative Directors: Casey Anderson & Emily Grube, Copywriter: Zach Stevens, Art Director: Lily Kowalski, Sr. Director Campaigns and Agency Operation: Heather Coleman, Head of Production: Brent Holt, Senior Producer: Megan Murray, Senior Project Manager/Account Lead: Shruti Desai, VP Global Marketing Consumer: Alejandro Madrid, Director of Global Creative: Kristi Armstrong, Creative Lead: Lisa Meyers
Production Company: Tony Kaye Pictures/Los Angeles, CA
Director/DP: Tony Kaye, Executive Producers: Matt Zion-Basile, Producer: Mark Conley
Where Shot: Culver City, CA
Editorial Company: Dell Blue Editorial/Austin, TX
Senior Editor: Jason Uson
VFX & Post Production Company: Office of Development & Design/New York, NY
Executive Creative Director: Gary Breslin, Executive Producers: Matthew Turke & Tim Case, Producers: Wendy Gardner & Stephanie Katritos-Sautai, Animators: Terry Lush, Fede Saenz & Brian Sensebe, VFX Lead: Joe Laffey
Color Correction: Nice Shoes/New York, NY
Colorist: Sal Malfitano, Flame Artists: Peter Charles & Jacob Robinson
Music Production Company: Shindig/Los Angeles, CA
Creative Director: Scott Glenn, Executive Producer: Debbi Landon, Composer: Austin Shupe, Sound Designer/Mixer: Dan Hart, Head of Production: Caroline O’Sullivan