MS talks Halo 3 telly advert

By Robert Purchese Published 13 September, 2007

Sounds very expensive.

Microsoft will be airing a rather spectacular Halo 3 advert in the UK next Tuesday, in between the Champions League action on ITV.

Instead of focusing on gameplay or rendered footage from the game, it will feature a full scale landscape model based on the Halo universe to explore themes lying at the heart of the series - and replicate a key battle from it.

The Diorama used took up more than 400 square feet and was over 12 feet high, populated by lots of 8-inch character models that presumably didn't move themselves. Stan Winston studio housed the enormous project, and director Robert Saunders is said to have taken more than four days to film it all.

The effect is to make us all feel like we're standing in the 27th Century, apparently, while we learn about stories of war, duty, sacrifice and just how bastardly hard Master Chief is.

Those of you too excited to wait until next Tuesday evening will be able to watch it all on the official Xbox site tomorrow, from 5pm BST onwards.

Microsoft is rumoured to have spent more than USD 10 million (GBP a lot) on advertising for Halo 3, and aims to pull in around USD 155 million (GBP even more) after just one day on sale. That would mean it grabbed more money in 24 hours than best-selling film Spider-Man 3 took in a whole weekend.

The first one only got 8/10, too.

Halo 3 will be released exclusively for Xbox 360 on 26th September. Excited and that.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (59) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • UncleLou #1 5 years ago

    The first one only got 8/10, too.

    Heh. :D

  • miiiguel #2 5 years ago

    8 billion dollars?

  • LetsGo #3 5 years ago

    "Instead of focusing on gameplay or rendered footage from the game"

    =

    So people dont think its Halo2 footage in the trailer you mean...

  • Rich72 #4 5 years ago

    it's crap! i watched it another site and it is rather not very good

  • miiiguel #5 5 years ago

    Halo 3 is above fanboy discussions, love it or hate it; 8/10, 10/10 or 5/10..., it'll sell millions; people will play it for hours, and hours, money will flow back and forth among Happy meals, Pontiacs, toys (er... sorry, Action Figures), comic books... you name it...

  • jack_klugman #6 5 years ago

    You will believe a man can fly.

  • afghan_jones #7 5 years ago

    "Why do people compare $60 games first day takings to $10 movies? "


    Because most people are incapable of liking something unless they can say it is 'better' than something else in some way.

    In other news, games are more fun than toasters and the petrol industry is more profitable than the dairy industry.

  • zoidberg #8 5 years ago

    where'd you see it Rich72?
    I thought it never aired yet.

  • Latin #9 5 years ago

    The new ad is on youtube, it's OK, probably prefer the ads for Halo 2 which are a lot less artsy and actually show MC kicking some ass rather than just imply it.

  • lambtron #10 5 years ago

    What you guys have linked to has been reported as only being a teaser.

    Who knows.

  • Lebowski #11 5 years ago

    Oh, teaser. I was going to say - I could've made that with a spare afternoon and some c**p from the Games Workshop.

  • lambtron #12 5 years ago

    And an old man - or are you 80 or something?

    Might lose some of the effect if like a 20 year old was talking about his war experiences ;).

  • Lukus #13 5 years ago

    I quite like it. The diorama anyway, looks ace.

  • DFective #14 5 years ago

    Is this the Museum one or a new one?

  • The-Bodybuilder #15 5 years ago

    >"than best-selling film Spider-Man 3"

    Everyone moans about halo 3, and they overlook this injustice.

  • the_sas_man #16 5 years ago

    @Groovemeister

    "Eurgh. I thought MS wouldn't stop as low as Sony to try and be 'artsy' with games.

    Advertise the product, not what it represents as 'values'"

    I think you will find Sony never represented even it's value. They had such pointless and stupid adverts that it made them shit.

    At least this Halo advert tries to be different, and has some style, and at least has the actual character in it. I think its awesome.

    If we all want gaming to break from its nerdy image and be taken seriosuly like films, then adverts like this is what it needs.

  • GamesConnoisseur #17 5 years ago

    Egster: Sure there is hype and there is fanboism.

    But what do get on my wick is people making assured judgement and not gonna be moved even though there is zero review from finished product?

    Sure I ll accept that some disliked the genre or even the franchise, that fine but I strongly disagree at the comments that Halo 3 is a stinker or more to the point going to be a stinker!

    I am no Halo fanboy and hoping that it ll be a worthy game but believe BioShock will likely beat it for GOTY. Though will be pleased if proven wrong.

  • lambtron #18 5 years ago

    "I've played Halo 1 & 2 and they're both mediocre shooters and only Halo fanboys think the world of them."

    Basically there are three main reasons you would desribe Halo as mediocre.

    1. You don't like FPSs (fair enough).
    2. You can't bear the idea of playing with a gamepad (fair enough).
    3. You have some kind of fanboy axe to grind.

    Of course there is always the fourth possibility that it simply wasn't your cup of tea, but then in that eventuality I HIGHLY doubt you would bother going onto an internet forum and bother to post about it. I'm not exactly enamoured of Brain Training but I don't feel the urge to tell everyone about it.

  • Splush #19 5 years ago

    I'm looking forward to the game but that 'museum' ad is cheesy as hell. How can anybody not crack up when the old man mentions master chief?

  • The-Bodybuilder #20 5 years ago

    This ad was made strictly for the masses.
    Halo 3 doesn't need in-game ads to show it''s gameplay, because every hardcore gamer knows what halo is.

  • tesco #21 5 years ago

    I agree that it is hyped WAY too much.
    I'd never played any Halo games before (and no i'm not a playstation fan) then I played the Halo 3 beta..... what a let down. awful landscapes, average gameplay, terrbile looking game. garish colours (i appreciate thats down to taste).
    You play COD4 beta and think, wow, this is a really well constructed multiplayer game.
    You play Bioshock and think, wow, this is a perfectly crafted single player game.
    I played Halo 3 beta and really couldnt see what the fuss was about.
    maybe some people still want to hold on to the franchise because Halo 1 was groundbreaking in some way. I just think its gotten a little tired.

  • miiiguel #22 5 years ago

    "only Halo fanboys...": they are a lot though...

    1.5 million pre-orders of "mindless halo fanboys" (aka: bunch of stupid people, it makes me oh so sick";), no it doesn't make it a good game in fact it makes a bad game even if you haven't played it. I think this is some sort of satanic drug, or disease. Let's play CoD with aliens.
    Edited by miiiguel at 13/09/07 @ 17:00

  • bioreit #23 5 years ago

    @Egster

    Well, I've played both Halo 1 and Halo 2 and loved both of them. I liked the consistent and persistent world-feel and the quite high production values (particularly with regards to voice acting and animations) and the in-engine cutscenes and the epic sci-fi pulp feel and I actually preferred the slightly more sedate control-system to the uber-twitchy-ohmygod-I'm-on-lsd control system so prevalent among PC shooters.

    But what's this? We can't both be right, can we? OMGZORRZ! The world will surely explodeded!

  • Mechstra #24 5 years ago

    [link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEWIw-a0GJw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Econsolevania%2Ecom%2F
    ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEWIw-a0G...[/link]

    The Consolevania boys' take on it is better.

  • jiveguy #25 5 years ago

    Comments and forums need a new sign: No Blacks, No Dogs, No Irish, No Halo Fans

  • lambtron #26 5 years ago

    "[link url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEWIw-a0G...
    ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEWIw-a0G...[/link]

    The Consolevania boys' take on it is better."

    hehe

  • alpha-0ne #27 5 years ago

    I cant wait fot 'NOOB HARVEST' for the first few days to boost my stats ;-)

    Oh and all the grillbots why post in the thread stop trolling go back to lair ;0(

  • Wayne #28 5 years ago

    LOL @ The first one only got 8/10, too

  • groovychainsaw #29 5 years ago

    Co-op in halo 1 - great, and the reason many 'casual' gamers loved it. Co-op in halo 2 - still great, and many yfriends i know bought an xbox just for co-op (true fact!). Halo 3 - 4 player online co-op, with 2 people on each xbox O_o - i think thats sold it to a lot of people, who cares about the story, its always been tactical enough that multiple players makes a difference.

  • ResidentKnievel #30 5 years ago

    Doesn't the advert kinda give away the ending, humanity and earth survives?

  • Lebowski #31 5 years ago

    Can't we just all agree that the Cadbury's Genesis / Gorilla advert is better?

  • BillyBrush #32 5 years ago

    The first one only got 8/10, too.

    Yes, and this one will get 9/10 most likely, 1 point lower than Bioshock, despite Bioshock majoring in the most amateur of dramatics.....what's that big needle? oh it's sophisticated plot exposition....buzzzz, genetic code being....rewritten....

    *blows raspberry*

  • miiiguel #33 5 years ago

    Anglo american culture is not fond dramatic finales, so it figures how the fight will end.
    I remember an american guy from my friend's list who said the death of the protagonist in Saint's Row was a "disgusting bad decision".
    Edited by miiiguel at 13/09/07 @ 17:55

  • captainrentboy #34 5 years ago

    [link url=http://www.gamestooge.com/2007/09/13/halo-3-believe-in-a-hero/
    ]http://www.gamestooge.com/2007/09/13/hal...[/link]

    Noooooooooo, it saddens me just seeing Master Chief's possible sacrifice in cheesy diarama form, in the game it'll destroy my soul :(

  • DAN.E.B #35 5 years ago

    wait! four player co op only possible on two machines? thats a shame, four machines would have been much better. i hate split screen!!!!

  • Ihya #36 5 years ago

    I look forward to more of the old man in the museum!

  • morriss #37 5 years ago

    ONly 10 users want the game?!!!!! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE???!!!

  • asphaltcowboy #38 5 years ago

    @morriss, its actually 767 people... being displayed incorrectly!

  • Razorus #39 5 years ago

    I find it strange that the director took 4 days to film this. Most music videos with approximatly 3-4 mins of footage takes about 2 or 3 days to complete. This advert, little over a minute, with not much happening and only, what? 4 different camera angles? took 4 days to film?!
    Anyway, I quite liked the ad, nice and quiet, pretty effective and emotional.

  • zendragon #40 5 years ago

    Yawn 3 times

  • The-Bodybuilder #41 5 years ago

    >"Can't we just all agree that the Cadbury's Genesis / Gorilla advert is better? "

    I can feel it, shootingthrough the air tonight.....

    HALO.

    I've been waiting for this moment, for all my life......

    HALO.......

    HALO.

    /gorilla starts druming the halo theme tune.

  • Apostle #42 5 years ago

    I'm just "not getting" Halo.

  • GitSomE_UK #43 5 years ago

    I'm just not looking forward to this now as much as I was. After playing the COD4 beta I just felt the MP experience is sooooo much better.

    I hope the single player game lives up to the hype.

    Halo 2 sucked big sweaty salty balls and wasn't a patch on the 1st, I guess we'll see soon enough.

  • Lukus #44 5 years ago

    Every damn time. It's amazing the hate Halo is bombarded with. If you get this riled up over a mere game what the hell are you people like with real life issues?!

  • Freek #45 5 years ago

    Not surprising is makes more money then spidey 3. It shares a similar audiance but the product sells for 5 times as much, not to mention the uber expensive version that comes with a cat helmet.
    Edited by Freek at 14/09/07 @ 08:16

  • lambtron #46 5 years ago

    "I'm just not looking forward to this now as much as I was. After playing the COD4 beta I just felt the MP experience is sooooo much better. "

    Actually, I found pretty much the opposite. Besides the GFX I found COD4 clunky and last-gen and felt it didn't even match up to Halo2 MP let alone 3.

  • afghan_jones #47 5 years ago

    This advert is gash. i watched it last night.

    If it cost so much money, none of it is on screen unless the old man is actually a robot made of gold.

  • kangarootoo #48 5 years ago

    @Lukus

    "If you get this riled up over a mere game what the hell are you people like with real life issues?!"

    To have life issues, it might be suggested that one is first required to have a life. So in many of the cases here, I'm sure its not an issue ;)

  • layleeloo #49 5 years ago

    You know what.

    Its the most over rated game ever. Its not crap - nor is it outstanding. Its just another FPS. People really do hype things up which lead to dissapointment - which happened with the Beta which was pants - and I cant say I would fork out more then £20 second hand for this. Chill out people - its only a bloody game - and an overrated one at that.
    Edited by layleeloo at 14/09/07 @ 15:56

  • silver-jon #50 5 years ago

    It might not have cost $10M to MAKE.
    But $10M marketing budget total. You don't buy airtime during Champions League for £2 and a half bag of revels.

    LOL at Lukus and kangarootoo.

    And as for Halo ? I absolutely loved Halo because I played it co-op with a mate and it's one of the most fun gaming experiences. Halo 2 I played alone and it was dull and repetitive with annoying save points and (for the hundredth time) confusing story due to being split between MC and Arbiter (unless you play it all through in one or two sittings). halo 3 ? Looking forward to it, but moderating my expectations to it being an 8/10 FPS - neither mind-blowinngly awesome nor being crap.

    Am I in the minority for being in a kind of happy middle ground ?

  • Calgon #51 5 years ago

    Am I the only one who...

    thinks peoples opinions on why they think the Halo series is overrated, is infact overrated? I mean those opinion are nothing new, theres better opinions on dogfood and hairnets for example.

    5 million? Theres got to be more than we've seen so far, or someone is laughing uncontrollably while rolling around in loadsa monney right now.

  • Qbert2k #52 5 years ago

    Halo is the definitive proof that people are easily to manipulate with clever, big budget marketing.

  • Calgon #53 5 years ago

    Qbert2k - Wii and Killzone2, dont forget them ;)
    Edited by Calgon at 14/09/07 @ 11:50

  • Strac #54 5 years ago

    i like halo too, it reminds me of ringworld...

  • Dan_LXIX #55 5 years ago

    Why so many people hate these adverts is almost a mystery to me... almost.

    They allow you to use your imagination and emotions to picture what went on in the battle. The problem so many gamers seem to have is they lack the imagination to do this. If it's not to be seen in front of them, it 'sucks'.

    If this was a trailer for a film that was nothing to do with Halo, very few people would think it bad.

    These are top quality teasers designed to make you FEEL the story, think about more than the game. The universe in Halo is superb - as good as any top rate SF novel, and these are adding to all that. Try reading a book - goods ones have the same effect.

    I feel sad so many people are missing out on this because they lack the capacity to expand into the universe laid out in front of them.
    Edited by Dan_LXIX at 14/09/07 @ 13:36

  • Carrybagma #56 5 years ago

    I'm actually enjoying the Halo shorts - and I really hated the drip3, drip3, drip3 news 'updates' (apart from the vehicle and weapons specs, which were great :o)

    Adverts for 360 games have been pretty good so far. The 'mad world' Gears ad was excellent.

    Hope Halo3 doesn't do a Star Wars, and end up being expensive, incredible-looking, banal and ultimately uninteresting.

  • kangarootoo #57 5 years ago

    @Qbert2k

    "Halo is the definitive proof that people are easily to manipulate with clever, big budget marketing."

    Why can people never account for difference in personal opinion? Just because you don't like Halo you assume that when someone else does there is something fishy going on. I liked both H1 and 2. They weren't the beginning, middle and end of gaming for me, but I enjoyed playing them a lot (Halo 1 in particular, first decent fps on a console AND co-op mode was just more fun than I could handle at the time).

    Honestly, just accept that some people had genuine fun playing those games and move on.

  • Vivid #58 5 years ago

    I'm not sure if you lot have seen this but it's a fascinating article on just how seriously Microsoft is taking Halo 3.
    [link url=http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/magazine/15-09/ff_halo
    ]http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworld...[/link]

    Now please resume calling each other 'gayers' and reviewing a game that hasn't been bloody well released yet.
    Edited by Vivid at 14/09/07 @ 23:50

  • captainrentboy #59 5 years ago

    ''Halo is the definitive proof that people are easily to manipulate with clever, big budget marketing.''
    What are you blabbering on about? You're talking absolute bollocks.
    If I was easy to manipulate with big, clever marketing. Surely I'd have a PS3 sitting on my desk after seeing those quality, really clever 'This is living' Hotel adverts.