Xbox 360 launch ad for India
by Alan Rose 
{ Sep 25th 2006 at 4:00PM }
MTV India has been airing a promotional spot for the Xbox 360 that celebrates the unifying power of games, and at the same time, shows just how localized marketing can get. Whereas the 360's "Jump In" commercial targeted stateside urban youth, this new documentary-style ad focuses on the sport of porok, a human version of cock fighting that is supposedly a tradition in certain parts of India. Do you think the symbolic approach of not showing the actual 360 console is an effective cross-cultural strategy?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr. Robert @ Sep 25th 2006 4:05PM
strange indeed
Morder @ Sep 25th 2006 4:05PM
please, name one thing that related at all to the xbox...
jchensor @ Sep 25th 2006 4:06PM
Just an aside, but shouldn't this be a part of your AdCritic series?
Eric Von Shpeel @ Sep 25th 2006 4:07PM
Play Xbox 360. Look like a Cock.
Avinash_Tyagi @ Sep 25th 2006 4:08PM
I'm from India and I still don't understand how that's going to sell Xboxes
Anand @ Sep 25th 2006 4:11PM
I am Indian and all I got to say is...WTF?
OtakuCODE @ Sep 25th 2006 4:12PM
Human version of cock fighting?
You mean Fight Club?
unreal mccoy @ Sep 25th 2006 4:14PM
This is very interesting. In the states, we're rarely exposed to rural Indian life.
ivan @ Sep 25th 2006 4:15PM
you know what would sell.... POROK 360!
CaptStu @ Sep 25th 2006 4:16PM
They should run this in the states.
fawazr @ Sep 25th 2006 4:16PM
Not a good videogame ad, but a very engaging ad. And we all know that it doesn't matter how relevant the ad's content is, but rather how well it mystifies the viewer. It may be about cock fighting, but you can't finish watching the ad without knowing that it's for the 360--and that's a succesful achievement, IMO.
Balla360 @ Sep 25th 2006 4:16PM
"This is very interesting. In the states, we're rarely exposed to rural Indian life."
I'm pretty sure you still haven't been.
NETNAVI @ Sep 25th 2006 4:19PM
okay I'm not Indian, but I have had a Pakastani girlfriend for 3 years and I got very close to the Indo-Pak culture and even learned a bit of Urdo ( does that qualify me? well, close enough)
aaaannddd....I don't think this ad will do well over there. They stay forever on the sport (wich I'm wondering if even most people have ever heard of it, even in India) and then finally on the title Xbox 360. Sure India has been wersternized a little over the years but what kind of games will hook them?
They just need to show the games. We play together was the best ad campaign ( though the guy sounded annoying) for MS. It works, even all around the world.
Guy Fawkes @ Sep 25th 2006 4:20PM
You got to me fucking kidding me, right? This is the dumbest commercial I have ever seen in my life. I hope no Indians buy the 360.
Babylonian @ Sep 25th 2006 6:04PM
While Wikipedia oddly lacks a porok article, here's the best I could find:
http://sports.indiapress.org/nagaland_arunachal_games.php
Tush @ Sep 25th 2006 4:22PM
Yeah, I'm Indian and that commercial confused me as well.
What they need to do is get EA to make a CricketHD 2007 game to launch with it...
Lactose The Intolerant @ Sep 25th 2006 4:28PM
I want the last 2 minutes of my life back. That was the worst commercial I have ever seen.
Bah. I probably would have wasted the 2 mintues even if I got em back. Still the worst commercial ever.
Anthony @ Sep 25th 2006 4:32PM
Confusing and weird? Yes
What ad will I remeber when I go to bed? This one.
Imo, this is good advertising and even though it may be weird, it draws your attention. At the end of the ad you may be in your seat saying, "What the fuck?". But you sure as hell will take a second glance when your walking in mall and you see the very logo at the end of the ad in your local game store.
Al @ Sep 25th 2006 4:33PM
Sorry, that commercial does nothing for me. I don't know, maybe this is extreamly amusng in India? I don't know.
It's as if they hired an Indian director to make ths commerical, then he just took an old film he randomly made one day and slapped the 360 logo on the end.
StratTastic @ Sep 25th 2006 4:34PM
Can't wait for EA to screw up CockFighting 07.
desistyle3 @ Sep 25th 2006 4:41PM
#13 - That Urdu bro, not Urdo
Robin @ Sep 25th 2006 4:44PM
Obviously, this ad is a joke. Like it is really, really, really obvious. Maybe all of you are being sarcastic and you know it is a joke, and you realize that people in India don't jump around on one foot and headbutt each other or fish with tree branches while standing on one foot, but I almost get the impression that some of you believe that this is something other than a huge joke about the supposed backwardness of Indian society.
hoos30 @ Sep 25th 2006 4:51PM
@ #21:
I don't think they know its a joke.
Sababaaa @ Sep 25th 2006 4:54PM
First off, What everybody isn't realizing is that this is not an Xbox 360 commercial.. as it states at the end, its an MTV ad "welcoming the Xbox 360 to India". Although I don't enjoy or watch Mtv, I do know that it is in their nature to run quirky commercials like these from time to time.
Also, I think the commercial would've been a lot better if they cut it to say, 30 seconds. Its about as bad as Sony's recent "This is living: Realtime" commercial for the PS3, imo. Both were pretty out there. It could easily be turned into a short joke commercial as well (I chuckled at the guy fishing).
But I dont think the commercial will work; at least without backup by actual game commercials. I mean what we all want most of all as gamers is gameplay, and I'm sure they're no different.
GL to MS in IN
Will @ Sep 25th 2006 4:56PM
That's the weirdest ad I have ever seen. Good luck Microsoft.
Sababaaa @ Sep 25th 2006 4:55PM
Yeah I think thats part of the problem here too, Robin..
saiko @ Oct 10th 2006 6:58PM
Get with the program, folks. The ad is trying to be...funny..."I used to catch 70 fish, now I catch 71". It's NOT a Indian Rituals and Sports 101.
On a side note, I agree with the poster who said EA needs to make a Cricket 2007 for Xbox 360. THAT will sell like gangbusters...assuming its pirated version doesn't make it to market first.
ymmv @ Sep 25th 2006 5:37PM
I thought the whole ad was very Pythonesque, although it most reminded me of a couple of scenes in the "Ripping Yarn" tv series (the grueling hopping marathon).
Pal @ Sep 25th 2006 6:46PM
What's an XBOX 360?