Activision and Emotive Draft Hundreds of Fans into Call of Duty Experience — LBB

Sydney’s Carriageworks was transformed as Activision and independent creative agency Emotive brought the world of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 to life through an immersive pop-up experience that sold out in less than 24 hours, leaving hundreds of hopeful fans on the waiting list.

Inspired by the Korean peninsula setting in Modern Warfare 4, Emotive brought the game's high-stakes atmosphere to Carriageworks, creating an immersive experience for fans.

Over the 17th and 18th of October, a giant DMZ fence split the iconic Sydney venue in two, creating opposing territories. Hundreds of fans were drafted into the North or South, issued military permits and sent into their respective territories to complete a series of missions unique to their side.

Covert night-vision operations took place inside pitch-black shipping containers, with enemy operatives to hunt down and contraband to uncover. Some recruits even found themselves getting haircuts and state portraits where smiling was discouraged.

Every completed mission earned recruits stamps towards increasingly valuable rewards.

At key moments, recruits could defect to the other side of the fence, abandoning everything they'd earned for the chance to switch sides.

Meanwhile, players enjoyed early access to the Modern Warfare 4 Campaign, battling through missions on a giant stage overlooking the experience.

Gavin McLeod, chief creative officer at Emotive, said, "We wanted to put everyone right in the middle of it. Give them a highly immersive experience, missions to complete and a chance to have a bit of fun. We were overwhelmed by the immense positivity we felt from Call of Duty fans at the event."

The experience also enlisted 50 creators from gaming, comedy, sport and entertainment, including Marty & Michael, Safar Bros, Brodie Pawson, Fonzie Gomez, Nathan Lust, and Jono Castano, with a combined following of more than nine million.

Across the two days, more than 200 pieces of creator content were produced on site, taking the experience beyond Carriageworks and into the feeds of gaming fans across Australia.

Creator content from the activation has gone viral in the gaming community with Nathan Lust’s collab with Jonny Tuivasa-Scheck hitting 4.1 million organic views.

The activation marks Emotive’s first work for Activision, with strategy, creative, earned, talent and production delivered as one team across Emotive and its production company, Emotive Productions. Amplification was built in from day one, with Emotive working hand in hand with Activision’s media agency, Avenue C, to take the experience to wider Australia.