This Freaky Ad for a 'Sensory Gaming Device' Is Actually a Promo for a Channel 4 Show

Viewers Intrigued by the 'Azana Band' Found a Trailer for 'Kiss Me First'

Published On
Mar 14, 2018

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Viewers of Channel 4 in the U.K. last week saw a freaky promo for a product called" The Azana Band," advertised as "the word's first sensory gaming device" which lets you "feel happiness, fear and pain, without consequence."

Anyone intrigued enough to check it out found it led them to a trailer for a new show called "Kiss Me First," which is about a girl addicted to online gaming.

The film, by 4Creative, led people to Azanaband.com where they discovered that the product, worn around the neck, "brings virtual reality gaming to life." The website has had 346,000 visits to date.

The campaign also included working with gaming influencers Hat Films, who published an "unboxing" video titled *REAL PAIN* in VR! on their channel of almost one million subscribers. Film and gaming entertainment site Den of Geek also published an article about the "mysterious new AzanaBand" revolutionary gaming device whilst promotional AzanaBand posters appeared in London and Manchester.

Alice Tonge, head of 4Creative, says in a statement: "Kiss Me First is a brilliant show with a very unique audience, so to get their attention we needed to do something innovative and different. To create intrigue, excitement and a genuine buzz around the show, we partnered with influencers and launched the AzanaBand as if it were a real-life gaming product."

It's not the first time that Channel 4 has used a fake product promo to create buzz around a sci-fi series; in 2015 a creepy ad and a pop-up store advertising "Persona Synthetics" led people to discover a trailer for its A.I.-themed series "Humans."

Credits

Date
Mar 14, 2018
Brand :
Kiss Me First
Client :
Kiss Me First
Agency :
4Creative
Online Media Partner :
Den of Geek
YouTube Content :
Hat Films
YouTube Content :
The Yogscast
Executive Creative Director :
Alice Tonge
Creative Director :
Eoin McLaughlin
Creative Team :
Jack Croft
Creative Team :
Stacey Bird
Creative Team :
Anne-Grit Maier
Creative Team :
Francesca van Haverbeke
Director :
James Brown
Photographer :
James Day
Designer :
Ollie Booth
Group Business Director :
Matt Berry
Head of Production :
Clare Brown
Executive Producer :
Shananne Lane
Production Executive :
Miketta Lane
Producer :
Luke Fraser
Senior Digital Producer :
Christos Savvides
Project Manager :
Olivia Emmerson
Director, Photography :
Ollie Schofield
Production Designer :
Daniel Wharton
Editor :
James Brown
Online :
Platform Post
Visual Effects :
John Cryer
Post Producer :
Jackie Sanders
Audio Producer :
Ian Chatham
Social Producer :
Lucy Ferguson
Social Production Assistant :
Kelly Lacroix
Social Video Director :
Charles Barclay
Website :
Joi Polloi
Digital Display :
Biborg
Retoucher :
Curious
Head of Marketing :
James Walker
Group Marketing Manager :
Nic Moran
Marketing Manager :
Michelle Owusu-Aninakwah
Marketing Executive :
Marcus Chamberlain

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