BURNING HEART RECORDS | MILLENCOLIN BATTLE | 2002
The Future, Hidden in a CD, Three Years Before Guitar Hero / BURNING HEART RECORDS "MILLENCOLIN BATTLE"
In 2002, putting a CD into your computer launched a game. Looking closer, I was stunned. This was basically Guitar Hero, three years before Guitar Hero existed.
The problem
Millencolin is a punk band from Sweden, signed to Burning Heart Records. Their 2002 album "Home from Home" came with a bonus game built into the CD, playable straight from the disc drive. This was still the era when people bought music on CDs.
The insight
In the music video for the single "Kemp," all the band members appeared as robots. Using that visual, the idea emerged: what if fans could go beyond just listening to the song, and actually play it themselves?
The idea
Players would pick one of the robot band members and accurately play guitar, bass, drums, or vocals. The mechanics were essentially identical to what would later become Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Except this came three years earlier. Beyond the CD version, it could also be played online.
What happened
The campaign won a Gold Lion at Cannes Lions, a Silver at the CLIO Awards, and two Golds at Sweden's Webbspelen.
Afterthought
What really gets me is that one fact: it came three years early. An experience nobody had even named yet was already being done, as promotion for a Swedish punk band. Advertising pulls this kind of thing off sometimes, which is exactly why you can never let your guard down.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2002
Featured in
- Opening Shop Inside the GameHow do you step into a world where someone else is already lost in play?
