England Captain Steven Gerrard Part Of Xbox One Advertising Campaign

Microsoft "has recruited England football captain Steven Gerrard and Star Trek actor Zachary Quinto for the global TV advertising campaign for its new Xbox One games console, which launches next month," according to Mark Sweney of the London GUARDIAN. Microsoft "declined to comment on the cost of its Xbox One campaign, the largest ever undertaken for its flagship games console brand." However, industry sources who have worked on such campaigns said that "the cost of such a global marketing blitz including TV advertising is likely to be at least" $100M. The ad campaign features Gerrard, Quinto in character as Star Trek's Spock and other stars, "along with characters from top games titles" -- such as Dead Rising 3, Ryse and Titanfall -- "beckoning" to viewers to join them in the Xbox One revolution (GUARDIAN, 10/25).