Call of Duty's First-of-its-Kind Trending Takeover Promotes Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Launch

To celebrate the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Activision and creative agency partner Mutiny (a Trailer Park Group Company) have worked with GIPHY to give viral internet stars the day off to play the day-one launch of the game on October 25th.

The Replacer, the Black Ops 6 marketing campaign’s iconic lead, has been showing up everywhere to take the place of people from all walks of life, so they can spend the day playing Call of Duty. And now, in a first-of-its-kind activation, The Replacer has even replaced our favourite Gifs. These special-edition Replacer GIFs will be featured on GIPHY’s 'Trending' page and across device and platform keyboards for 24 hours.    

“When Activision approached us with The Replacer creative, we saw an opportunity to push even further into social media, putting him and his replacing skills directly in the hands of our fans in surprising ways,” said Mutiny executive creative director Noah Eichen. “Utilising their existing relationship with GIPHY, we gave existing fans a way to insert a comical character they love into how they communicate daily online; and for those who aren’t familiar, his presence is a conversation starter to build more awareness around the game.”

Mutiny and Call of Duty worked behind the scenes with The Replacer star Peter Stormare on a bespoke shoot using rear projection, props, wardrobe, and custom lighting to create every detailed nuance of these GIFs.

“We’re excited to partner with Activision and Mutiny on this launch to bring the iconic character, The Replacer, to Call of Duty fans like never before through this first-of-its-kind GIF marketplace takeover,” said Shira Lasoff, GIPHY client lead. “With The Replacer as the main character in the internet’s favourite GIFs, we’ve created a new way to insert Call of Duty into everyday conversations and connect users and fans through vibrant, shareable content.”

“With the iconic return of The Replacer in support of the launch campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, fans around the world are wondering, ‘where will The Replacer show up next?’” said Matt Gilhooley, VP of consumer marketing at Activision. “Along with our creative partners at Mutiny, we are excited about this collaboration because it allows The Replacer to appear in completely unexpected ways all around the internet, especially across social and chat platforms. This unlocks the opportunity for our fans to participate in the campaign in a really fun way -- exactly how they are accustomed to already sharing GIPHY content. We hope the internet’s favourite GIFs enjoy some time off playing the new Call of Duty.”

Fans can expect to see The Replacer GIFs across the most popular online platforms, including X, Instagram, Discord, Reddit, WhatsApp, iMessage, and more. For newcomers to Call of Duty, this is a reminder that just like the stars of their favourite GIFs, they deserve to take some time off today to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.