WWE 2K18 - "Vandal" Seth Rollins (2017) 2:00 (USA)

In “Vandal,” its latest creative work for the WWE 2K video game franchise, advertising agency barrettSF is focusing on the future by disrespecting the past. The new spot launched June 19 on ESPN with the tagline: “Be Like No One.”

In years past, big WWE names like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, John Cena, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Brock Lesnar have been announced as cover stars, but this year’s cover star, Seth Rollins, could care less about the past. He’s burning it to the ground. Literally. As our masked vandal breaks into the WWE archives where WWE history is on display, he sets fire to it all. He tears through wrestling masks, iconic pieces are melted by the fires, he shatters champion belts, and our masked intruder only stops once. It's to measure his hand compared to Andre the Giants. The momentary truce is brief, and this statue gets shattered too.

Seth Rollins is a dynamic in-ring architect, charismatic leader and fan-favorite WWE personality. Showcasing him created a unique opportunity to elevate the next generation of WWE Superstars by rebelling against the company's storied history, rather than embracing it. It's ye old Zig-Zag creative execution. It's quite a long edit but for wrestling fans, the amount of memorabilia makes each scene worth it.

“WWE fans are passionate about the brand and the way its personalities are portrayed,” said Todd Eisner, Associate Partner and Creative Director at barrettSF. “We want to entertain, but we also want to do justice to the WWE Superstars. These men and women are incredible at what they do.”

“We’re used to sports franchises celebrating their history,” said Senior Art Director Jen Hart, “so it says a lot about WWE and 2K’s commitment to the future that they’re willing to, quite literally, burn it down.”

Advertising Agency: barrettSF, San Francisco, CA (USA)
ECD: Jamie Barrett
Associate Partner/Creative Director: Todd Eisner
Associate Creative Director: Brad Kayal
Senior Art Director: Jen Hart
Associate Partner/Head of Production: Conor Duignan
Managing Director: Patrick Kelly
Account Director: Molly Friedman
Account Manager: Emily Brody

Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Björn Rühmann

Executive Producers: Patrick Milling Smith, Brian Carmody

Executive Producer: Allison Kunzman
Chief Operating Officer: Andrew Colon
Line Producer: Alexandra Lisee
Director of Photography: Lasse Frank

Production Designer: Jason Kisvarday

Editorial: Exile
Editor: Nate Gross / Grant Surmi
Head of Production: Jennifer Locke
Senior Producer: Remy Foxx

VFX / Finish: A52
VFX Supervisor: Jesse Monsour
CG Supervisor: Andy Wilkoff
2D VFX Artists: Jesse Monsour, Richard Hirst, Brendan Crockett, Enid Dalkoff, Michael Vaglienty
3D Artists: Jun Kim, Aemelia Widodo, Phiphat Pinyosophon
Animator: Peter Murphy
Colorist: Paul Yacono
Producer: Drew Rissman
Executive Producers: Patrick Nugent & Kim Christensen
Managing Directors: Linda Carlson & Jennifer Sofio Hall

Music: Tuesday Collective
Sr. Producer: Chelsea Maddox
Assistant Producer: Sam Blehar
Creative Director: Theo de Gunzburg

Audio Mix: LIME
Engineer: Joel Waters