The other day when I was at work, I overheard two of the senior workers talking about Call of Duty: Black Ops. I was completely suprised by this since these guys normally talk about boring stuff like the news, the weather, nothing really to take note of. How did this discussion happen, and why would someone so far out of the normal age of players be talking about this game?

Last night was the season continuation of one of my favorite shows on TV, Burn Notice. I don't normally watch anything when it broadcasts on TV because I hate watching commercials, but Burn Notice is an exception. Partway through the show this commercial came on: 

This was when I realized what had happened earlier in the day. The discussion I had only heard part of was about this commercial for Call of Duty: Black Ops. What was strange about this commercial though, was that it got my parents talking about the commercial too! They wouldn't be playing a FPS like Call of Duty, but they understood the commercial to represent the fact that anyone could be playing this game, from normal guys who were probably casted from off the street, to stars like Kobe Bryant.

From my perspective, an ad campaign like this is better for non-gamers who will see a interesting commercial with action instead of the usual game footage or pre-rendered action normally associated with game ads. And if the commercial gets people talking, like it did for those seniors and my parents, it could mean more sales during the holiday shopping season and even a new old generation of gamers willing to learn about video games.