Sports video games aren’t exactly my forte unless if it involves the Mushroom Kingdom or an announcer screaming HE’S ON FIRE, but bizarre real-life marketing campaigns in video games? Yeah, you had me at “Jake from State Farm is in NBA 2K22.”
Released last week on multiple versions of XBOX and PlayStation, I honestly can’t tell you how the game itself is. What I can tell you is that there’s a career mode where you can make your own future NBA hopeful. There’s also an online open-world mode (The City) where you can shop, shoot hoops, and be welcomed to the neighborhood by Jake from State Farm.
That last bit of information came courtesy of Capybaroness on Twitter who shared footage of the encounter along with the State Farm Drip.
the drip………….. pic.twitter.com/pEVhjm9GcE
— esther (@capybaroness) September 10, 2021
This is the part where I tell everyone that I unapologetically love shit like this and have for a while.
Pizza Hut in Crazy Tazi walked so Jake from State Farm in 2K could run. pic.twitter.com/0Snfmb8VdQ
— Chels🌌DazeAhead (@KendrickLaMario) September 12, 2021
First, the obvious question: how much did State Farm pay to have this done? It’s one thing to have an in-game sign for an insurance company (or, in that Crazy Taxi example, Pizza Hut out of nowhere), but this is an entire voice-acted, in-game character who has been intergraded into the story.
Someone PAID someone to fanboy over the phrase, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”
So how much money did State Farm pay to get such a ridiculously large product placement. Like honestly I’ve never seen anything like this. Like a contract somewhere was signed and 200 employees started to model, texture, mo-cap, and VO… This.
— Brian (@BrianMM86) September 11, 2021
Then there’s the part where it’s revealed that this isn’t the first time the NBA 2K series has done something that induced second-hand embarrassment for whoever took the time to record footage and share it on Twitter dot com.
Felt the need to remind everybody this exists as well https://t.co/SpaFpyHmjT
— BruHEEZ (@BruHEEZ) September 11, 2021
Also, there’s a Jake from State Farm conspiracy?!
The worst part is where State Farm is acting like that’s been Jake this whole time and that it was never this dude. What kind of Mandela Effect bullshit is State Farm trying to pull? pic.twitter.com/3AsAFkRXpa
— Shug Knight (@Shugrug) September 11, 2021
But throughout all of this, my absolute favorite moment is the folks chiming in about how video game companies just be out here doing this. At this point in my ongoing video gaming history, the wackier the product placement is, the more I love it. Don’t just try and get me to buy a thing because it’s a billboard in Vice City, I want something that’s gonna trend online because only the bravest cosplayer who wants to go all-in on the joke would dare to rock something like this.
“Hey, as a show of my support, I’d like to offer you my official look.” pic.twitter.com/k362aJaf9f
— Rocketlex (@Rocketlex) September 11, 2021
Real talk, though? It could’ve been a lot more… Cool Spot.
Give it time and we will have the state farm version of this pic.twitter.com/Cvqc8qID1n
— Repression Jones (@Ottosjacket2) September 11, 2021
I mean we did get Sneak King, didn’t we?
And I will never let anyone forget this:
Jake from State Farm dating sim when?!
happy to confirm that jake from state farm will also be coming to ghost of tsushima, please stay tuned https://t.co/CX4tjIde74
— Andrew Goldfarb (@garfep) September 12, 2021
Don’t play with my emotions like this!
(Image: 2K Games)
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