Ben Stiller is a probably under-qualified therapist in the campaign spot for Sony Playstation’s God of War Ragnarök, which launched November 9.
“The God of War dynamic plays out in every parent-child relationship,” Stiller, dressed enthusiastically as God of War’s Kratos, tells his group therapy session, which includes John Travolta and his daughter Bella, LeBron James and his son Bronny and Stiller’s son, Quin – and all of the kids are well-versed in eye-rolling.
The spot, titled “All Parents Can Relate,” was produced in collaboration with Los Angeles-based creative agency Mocean.
In God of War Ragnarök, the threat of Ragnarök hovers over father-son duo, Kratos and Atreus, who must journey to each of the Nine Realms in search of answers as Asgardian forces prepare for the final battle. Just like Stiller, Travolta and James, Kratos must learn when to hold on and when to let go of Atreus, who is now a teenager and in search of his own identity.
“‘All Parents Can Relate’ is playfully irreverent, which represents a core tenet of the PlayStation brand,” said Eric Lempel, SVP, global head of marketing, Sony Interactive Entertainment, in a statement “Ben Stiller dressed up as Kratos, a surprising mix of iconic talent, perfect comedic timing, and the reactions from the kids – all of these elements work together to produce a piece of creative that is unconventional, unexpected, and uniquely PlayStation.”
“After consulting with my children and their friends, I was informed that this was the biggest game in the world of gaming and that I should definitely consider getting involved and I’m glad I did,” said Travolta, who tells his daughter he’s hydrated when she whispers to him that he’s “being too thirsty.”
When asked about what it was like to work side-by-side with their children, James said: “For Bronny and I, the creative on this one was a perfect fit for our personalities and we got to have some fun with it. Being on set with some of the most iconic actors of our time, balancing the improv and the timing of it all was different than anything we’ve done together. Watching him nail his lines so effortlessly and feed off the other incredible talent was pretty surreal. Another proud dad moment for me, for sure.”
“We tend to joke around a lot and had actually never really acted together — and to have all our kids there doing this felt really organic,” said Stiller. “Quin and I are basketball fans so it was a kick to improv with Bronny and LeBron. I think Quin and Ella and Bronny all did great — they seem to not have any trouble taking us down.”
CREDITS
Client: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Agency: Mocean
Chief Creative Officer, Director: Greg Harrison
Chief Operating Officer, Executive Producer: Erica Coates
EVP Strategy, Concepting, Writer: Allan Gungormez
Associate Creative Director, Concepting: Clark Rogers
SVP Entertainment, Accounts: Alyson Fishbein
Account Director: Renee Szostak
Producer: Spencer Jarrold
Producer: Hyeri Choi
Supervising Producer: Valerie Lopez
Production Coordinator: Amanda Cueva
Line Producer: Austin Sepulveda
Line Producer: James Heth
Creative Director, Editorial: Matt Delamater
Editor: Zachary Weinberg
Assistant Editor: Austin Cadman, Anthony Bonetti
Graphics: Grace Kim
Motion Graphics: Brian Strauss
Post Production Supervisors: Ken Peltan, Douglas Salkin, Scott Angel, Brandon Halverson
Colorist /Conform Artist: Joseph Whiting
Colorist: James Knott
Conform Artist: Andrew Handrich
Audio Mixer: Brian Magill
Tags: god of war: ragnarok hot spots mocean sony interactive entertainment