We Don't Do Passive

Blizzard EntertainmentDiablo IV - SlayPals

Creating a high-profile moment that puts Diablo at the forefront of gaming culture.

Logo for Blizzard Entertainment

Services

  • Social & Content Strategy
  • Brand & Creative Strategy

Outputs

  • Online Video

Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred is hard. The enemies are brutal. The dungeons are terrifying. The challenges are frustrating. But the new addition of mercenaries makes things a little easier because with them, you never have to fight alone. Mercenaries are your best friend in battle, so every player can feel more confident taking on hell.

We reimagined mercenaries as “SlayPals” — diabolically demented dolls reminiscent of everyone’s favorite childhood companion toys from the 80s and 90s, complete with their own jingle and commercial parody.

Aldkin
Reheir
Subo
Varyanna
Aldkin(2)
Reheir(2)
Subo(2)
Varyanna(2)
The Many

Along with the hero spot, we created various social posts and a sing-along video to further extend the campaign. Additionally, exclusive “SlayPals” merchandise with custom campaign illustrations was available on the Blizzard Gear Store. The t-shirts represented the first time Diablo has created a Capsule Collection of merchandise for a campaign, rather than the game title.

The Many
The Many
The Many
The Many
The Many

The Results

The SlayPals campaign is among the top post-launch assets for Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, driving 800k+ impressions across all social platforms and, on YouTube specifically, saw engagement rates around 11% which are well above channel averages for Diablo. In addition, social profiles were flooded with player engagement with comments asking about where they can purchase their own SlayPals.

Impressions Across All Social Platforms

k+

YouTube Engagement Rate

%

Ad Age

Editor Pick

Earned Media Impressions

MM+