Peter Berg’s POV ‘Call Of Duty’ Ad Stars Taylor Kitsch
Peter BergandTaylor Kitschhave stuck by one another for years, beginning withFriday Night Lightsand carrying throughBattleshipand last year’sLone Survivor. Now they’ve teamed up for an entirely different sort of combat engagement. Kitsch stars in Berg’s first-personCall of Dutyad — a live-action affair that, like the game series, puts the viewer in the primary role. Then it throws a set of sad cliches at us. Catch ‘em all below.
Berg says that he created the ad to represent things that can actually be done in-game, so this is as close to a live-action version of the game as fans might get. Some of the POV technique here is great, even though it moves so quickly that we aren’t offered a chance to wonder where they’re fighting, and why. It’s a game. You justfight. Though this is more like party-fighting — look how much fun Kitsch is having!
And then, for no reason,Emily Ratajkowskishows up, more in a ‘Blurred Lines’ thanGone Girlsort of way. Because just in case this wasn’t already calculated to appear to as many young dudes as possible, here’s a lady! And she’s dressed for battle, if by “battle” you mean the impending wet t-shirt pillow fight that takes place in some imaginary land that is even farther from reality than the rest of this trailer.
She’s really a goat, though, so it’s OK. Male gaze? Let’s talk about thatgoat gaze.
But the tagline is the best, tone-deaf-est part: “Power Changes Everything.” That phrase means something that I don’t think anyone involved with this ad intended. Maybe the power to co-opt another country’s strife for entertainment; or power to co-opt sex to sell war games. But there are no politics here, it’s just a game. It’s fun. Right?
Trailer viaActivision. The song, in case the lyrics didn’t make it pretty clear, is ‘Salute Your Solution,’ by the Raconteurs.
