Left 4 Dead 2 Gets $25M Ad Campaign

Well, I guess it's much, much cheaper (and much, much safer) than Valve infecting a bunch of random strangers with a pesky zombie virus and sending out wearing sandwich boards to go door to door and do promotion, huh?

Well, those L4D billboards were definitely pretty darn cool to see all over the NYC area, so it'll be interesting to see L4D2 pop up in even more places, that's for sure. Anyway, go pre-order the game before someone at Valve reads this and decides to use that sandwich board idea of mine...

VALVE ANNOUNCES $25 MIL LEFT 4 DEAD 2 AD CAMPAIGN
Zombie Blockbuster On Track To Top Valve's All Time Sales

Oct 5, 2009 - Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Half-Life and Counter-Strike) and leading technologies (such as Steam and Source), today announced a $25 Mil consumer advertising plan for its upcoming action thriller, Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2).
"Based on the strength of pre-orders, Left 4 Dead 2 will be the fastest-selling product in Valve's history," said Gabe Newell, president of Valve. "Left 4 Dead 2 has consistently run at 300% of Left 4 Dead's numbers."

Last year, Left 4 Dead was the top selling new property for both the Xbox 360 and PC. Sales were driven by strong word of mouth, top reviews, and a $10 million advertising campaign.

"We'll be supporting Left 4 Dead 2's launch with a $25 million campaign," said Doug Lombardi, Valve's vice-president of Marketing. "Left 4 Dead 2 has already set the record for greatest number of pre-orders in our company's history, and we're still over a month out from shipping."

In the USA, the campaign will include Monday Night Football and UFC television broadcasts, roadside billboards, and popular lifestyle and gaming sites.

This year's European plan is also more aggressive than last year's, with television advertising in all the major markets appearing during sports and lifestyle programming, plus strong outdoor investments in more cities, as well as online and print advertising.

"Left 4 Dead 2 is expected to once again exceed everyone's expectations and be an industry best title on PC and Xbox 360 for the year," said David DeMartini, General Manager of EA Partners. "With Left 4 Dead and now Left 4 Dead 2, Valve has created one of today's most compelling video game experiences and leading entertainment franchises."

Remember, folks... November 17, 2009. Feel free to call in sick (or perhaps even dead, if you feel a really bad case of the zombie flu coming on...)