In the style of the recent wave of celebrity-lead commercials enticing the masses to purchase World of Warcraft, a nifty little parody has sprung up. With a thumbs up from Nethaera on the forums, it's a quick and entertaining video for those who have been keeping up with its official counterparts.
While we're on the subject, what do you think of the commercials? Personally, I am enjoying seeing elements of my WoW-playing creeping into my television-viewing. It somehow seems so odd and therefore mildly thrilling to be confronted with a night elf while channel flipping. Now, all we need is an alliance parody and we'd be set!
I wouldn't mind seing a female celebrity shilling for wow. There are a lot of women who play WOW, it would be nice to see us repersented in adverstising.
This commercial is... mostly kind of sad. Ah, well, they can't all be winners.
And I agree with Jess; I'm pretty annoyed that with 5 commercials they couldn't find a single woman. How are little girls supposed to grow up to be corpse-camping jerks without solid rolemodels? Seriously, though, as a woman gamer it's all the more alienating when the company doesn't seem aware of your existence, on top of all the stupid garbage you have to deal with from your fellow gamers.
GOD! I'm so sick of hearing how woman are oppressed in gaming, blah blah blah. Your forgetting that one of Blizz's own, Nethaera, is a female. Stop tossing your martyred self on the train tracks and stfu and enjoy the game. If you don't like the absence of a female video, make one yourself. Petition your local female gaming celebrity to make one. For god sakes, stop turning everything someone comes up with into why didn't a female think it/make it up.
I don't know what the actual situation is (I suspect that nobody outside of Blizzard marketing does), but I feel obliged to point out a scenario which is admittedly contrived but which I believe to be reasonable, in which Blizzard isn't marginalizing women and has still only released videos with men in them so far:
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Blizzard invites fifty celebrities to record videos advertising that they play World of Warcraft. Half of the invitations go to men, half to women. Of the invitees, forty refuse; of the ten left, seven are men and three are women. All of them agree to record ads as their schedules permit. The first in the studios are Mr. T, Verne Troyer, William Shatner, Willy Toledo, and Jean Claude van Damme, and these videos are released as they are recorded. (Troyer's is delayed for unspecified reasons.) All five are male.
At this point, therefore, Blizzard has positive responses from three women and seven men, despite sending queries to twenty-five women and twenty-five men. None of the women have recorded; five of the men have. And the five (well, four, Troyer's is delayed) men's ads are the ones that have run.
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I don't mean to say that this is how it happened, and I don't mean to say that Blizzard isn't marginalizing women. I'm just saying that four videos (and a fifth that hasn't aired yet) isn't really a whole lot of evidence on which to base the assumption that they /are/.
Dec 9th 2007 at 12:00PM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Zghuk Dec 9th 2007 12:06PM
Well, I miss the German and a Chinese Actor ;-)
gg Dec 9th 2007 12:27PM
Suck.
Zeplar Dec 9th 2007 12:30PM
People on the forums mostly didn't like his fake voice. But what the heck, this guy isn't a paid actor, cut him some slack.
Patyn Dec 9th 2007 1:20PM
I'm waiting for it to go the other way...
Hi, my name is Patyn and I play an American teacher.
Mainman Dec 9th 2007 5:01PM
That's what I was expecting from this video.
=/
SaintStryfe Dec 9th 2007 1:29PM
I'd be funnier if he wasn't doing his best constipated Randy Orton impression while talking into the camera.
Zandar Dec 10th 2007 11:05AM
He didn't trip over his own words like Randy and completely eff up the promo.
SaintStryfe Dec 10th 2007 5:09PM
If Randy had the ability to cut and retake...
Thijz Dec 9th 2007 1:49PM
I don't like the way he thinks he's all that...
prudychick Dec 9th 2007 1:51PM
Yeah I was expecting an in-game character doing the commercial saying he played a human whatever. I think that would have been more interesting.
vlad Dec 9th 2007 4:51PM
fail
Marc Dec 9th 2007 3:56PM
Here comes the viral videos from Blizzard's marketing department.
Pretty smart way to get free press.
Kwinto Dec 9th 2007 4:12PM
One comment to rule them all: http://www.darklegacycomics.com/120.html
Jess Dec 9th 2007 8:04PM
I wouldn't mind seing a female celebrity shilling for wow. There are a lot of women who play WOW, it would be nice to see us repersented in adverstising.
Christian Stricker Dec 10th 2007 3:14AM
A Tauren claiming to eat gnomes?! How hilarious and original!
0/10 for effort.
Jay Dec 10th 2007 12:39PM
My names Howard, I shout into the camera and I suck at video editing!
Beth Dec 10th 2007 2:10PM
This commercial is... mostly kind of sad. Ah, well, they can't all be winners.
And I agree with Jess; I'm pretty annoyed that with 5 commercials they couldn't find a single woman. How are little girls supposed to grow up to be corpse-camping jerks without solid rolemodels? Seriously, though, as a woman gamer it's all the more alienating when the company doesn't seem aware of your existence, on top of all the stupid garbage you have to deal with from your fellow gamers.
Surpriseb Dec 10th 2007 3:03PM
@16
GOD! I'm so sick of hearing how woman are oppressed in gaming, blah blah blah. Your forgetting that one of Blizz's own, Nethaera, is a female. Stop tossing your martyred self on the train tracks and stfu and enjoy the game. If you don't like the absence of a female video, make one yourself. Petition your local female gaming celebrity to make one. For god sakes, stop turning everything someone comes up with into why didn't a female think it/make it up.
Chris Anthony Dec 10th 2007 4:29PM
I don't know what the actual situation is (I suspect that nobody outside of Blizzard marketing does), but I feel obliged to point out a scenario which is admittedly contrived but which I believe to be reasonable, in which Blizzard isn't marginalizing women and has still only released videos with men in them so far:
---
Blizzard invites fifty celebrities to record videos advertising that they play World of Warcraft. Half of the invitations go to men, half to women. Of the invitees, forty refuse; of the ten left, seven are men and three are women. All of them agree to record ads as their schedules permit. The first in the studios are Mr. T, Verne Troyer, William Shatner, Willy Toledo, and Jean Claude van Damme, and these videos are released as they are recorded. (Troyer's is delayed for unspecified reasons.) All five are male.
At this point, therefore, Blizzard has positive responses from three women and seven men, despite sending queries to twenty-five women and twenty-five men. None of the women have recorded; five of the men have. And the five (well, four, Troyer's is delayed) men's ads are the ones that have run.
---
I don't mean to say that this is how it happened, and I don't mean to say that Blizzard isn't marginalizing women. I'm just saying that four videos (and a fifth that hasn't aired yet) isn't really a whole lot of evidence on which to base the assumption that they /are/.
Gamerz22 Dec 10th 2007 9:00PM
Fail... Parodies should = comedy, not a poor attempt at trying to be important.