Ubisoft: The Dangers of the Internet of Things
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/ubisoft-wants-gamers-learn-what-data-hacker-can-steal-their-selfies-174417
Video game company Ubisoft is taking a very dark approach in promoting their video game, “Watch-Dogs 2.” The “Watch-Dogs” series of games the player is taken into an adventure through a wide open environment where the main character is a hacker. However, in the “Watch-Dogs” universe, the hacker is referred to as a modern day magician, with the goal of gathering as much information as possible throughout the environment. With current events pointing to several instances of data leaks, distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks, and data breaches, this content couldn’t be more time appropriate. The social currency of this approach in ultimately trying to promote a video game, lies in its focus on data, more specifically the inadvertent sharing of data.
The “selfie” loved by many, and engaged in by everyone, and with the advent of the smartphone, has become one of the easiest ways of communicating. What Ubisoft is trying to make aware to the public, if not at least the community of gamers playing their game, is that there’s potentially far more information we are all sharing within a selfie. A selfie’s metadata could in fact be sharing far more information than we think and/or intend to share. With several instances of security breaches, especially within the video game community, nothing could be more relatable than the threat of the possibility of exposing personal data.
It’s a fairly clever method of using the game’s methodology of using a hacker’s mentality to gather information and in turn using that methodology to educate the general public and game players, on the dangers that may possibly lie in a seemingly harmless selfie. Ubisoft has turned a seemingly innocuous video game content into practical knowledge. The amount of content that has been generated with the idea of the game’s hacker mentality is engaging and practical. We celebrate how convenient everything is due to technology, and we all tend to forget to take heed of the hidden dangers that technology may bring. Everything is now connected, the “Internet of Things,” is very much a reality, and Ubisoft is cleverly reminding us of the security flaws that might exist. The very idea of exposing personal data incites a certain level of emotion. Although some may take more precautions and some may not care at all.
Regardless of whether the intended audience are suppose to be just gamers who are dedicated to playing this series of games, or the general public, the content seemingly makes the consumers feel as if they are gaining some sort of insider knowledge. It’s easy to think that this sort of knowledge could easily be shared with potentially compelling stories to go with it. Between fitness trackers, smart televisions, wifi in automobiles, and smart homes, these are all items that many consumers either possess or interact with on a semi-regular basis. Word of mouth could easily turn warnings into stories of how someone’s fitness tracker was able to activate a microwave, burn a pack of popcorn, and resulting in a house-fire. It was just a small house-fire, but a fire none-the-less or maybe it was just a charred pack of microwave popcorn, but it was all because a fitness tracker was hacked. As outrageous as this story might sound, this is not too far from various accounts of PC webcams being hacked and used to record the user. Ubisoft and it’s partner AKQA has accomplished a clever way of turning a video game’s content into promoting the game itself as well as turning the game into a form of a public service announcement. It’s a direct way of reminding consumers that the very platform of media they’re consuming on a daily basis for hours on end could potentially be dangerous. The online gaming community have already been exposed to various instances of data breaches and “Watch-dogs 2″ in-game methodology has essentially thrown back the basic tenet of the game to its players. Playing hacker in a video game is fun, but there really are hackers in the real world who gather your information for their version of fun also.
By using the selfie as the trigger for inciting emotion amongst its audience, Ubisoft is not only able to direct its intended campaign to gamers, but to the general public as well. The internet of things goes beyond the world of just gamers, and knowledge the campaign is sharing is practical for everyone to use. Because the dangers of exposing personal data is relevant to everyone, it is knowledge that is easy to share and the public is well aware of. Ubisoft and AKQA have done well in covering all their STEPPS in this campaign.