Verizon Gaming imagines life in a glitchy world plagued by lag

It’s morning in America. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and sprinklers are sputtering blocky artifacts arrested in mid-air. A paper route gets more interesting with the courier levitating a yard away from their bike. Vans sprout tree limbs, doors refuse to open and cats teleport into signposts as it becomes apparent that this is no ordinary suburb. A new spot titled "The Reset" for Verizon renders a Matrix-like world where nothing is dependable or static, one that changes like malevolent machines are in control—if the machines were easily distracted. It’s the physical manifestation of lag, that annoying delay between call and response that has been the bane of gamers since the first network. Pathing problems send people disappearing into walls and vehicles into paroxysms. Eventually, the floor gives way and entire world comes crashing down—a welcome respite from the maddening chaos. The spot promotes Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband and comes from agency Madwell. Doug Liman directed via Independent Media, with post-production by MPC. The ambitious scenario took six months to create and channels glitches from games over the last few decades. (If only Cyberpunk 2077’s problems were restricted to latency.) It’s running in digital, out-of-home and social placements through Jun. 30.

Verizon Gaming imagines life in a glitchy world plagued by lag

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