Offline advertising failed in the digital age — Hideo Kojima says the unconventional Death Stranding 2 promotion backfired

Hideo Kojima once again surprised fans with an unconventional approach to promoting Death Stranding 2. Branded napkins bearing the game’s logo were handed out free to passersby on the streets of Tokyo. Each one contained a QR code linking to a mysterious trailer for the project.

According to Kojima, the concept was inspired by traditional Japanese advertising practices, where small souvenirs are distributed on the street to draw attention to a new release. In reality, however, things didn’t go exactly as planned.

“Almost nobody wanted to take them. People avoided eye contact and walked around us,” he admitted. The developer attributed the lackluster response to the lingering effects of the pandemic and to people’s increasing familiarity with digital advertising.

After the story about the promotion surfaced online, the napkins were quickly snapped up. Kojima commented:

“It was a gesture against contemporary trends, but the combination of offline and online proved most effective.”

Source: iXBT.games