Omaze: Dodgeball is back and Ben Stiller wants YOU

Ah dodgeball. The cult comedy that brought the sport of dodgeball global fame for all the wrong reasons. In this piece, we take a good look at the unique commercial by Omaze, “Dodgeball is back and Ben Stiller wants YOU”. Have a read through our notes and see if you agree with our review of this star-studded piece of advertising.

Memorability – 8 / 10

If you were a fan of the original Dodgeball film, this clip will bring it all back. The script is packed with jokes resembling the tones of the film and all the main characters are back to remind us of their most popular lines. Though the sequence is very dialogue heavy, there are scenes from start to finish that force their way into your mind’s long term memory through strong humor and energetic delivery. Replaying all the old gags brings in some nostalgic reminders that will have fans excited to find out more, while the new content ensures the promise of more to come.

Effectiveness – 8 / 10

If you’ve never heard of Omaze, but you’ve heard of Stiller in Dodgeball, you’ll certainly be tempted to look the charity up. The idea here is quite clearly to make a huge buzz online as well as stir up hype through word of mouth. On both counts the ad is sure to deliver impressive levels of success.

Style – 7 / 10

The script and cast is produced as well as you would expect for such a high budget project, but the choreography of the scene itself is about as basic as it can get. Wooden characters are made to stand in perfect formation as the lines are delivered by the leading stars, a school gym court in the background and less than impressive graphics all combine to give off the impression that the project was made in a tight rush. The script more than makes up for the lack of production value but some hollywood style quality would have made the clip far more exciting to watch over and over.

Heart or Humor – 8 / 10

Commercials don’t often come with as much compact comedy. In under 5 mins the script packs in as many references to the humor of the original film as it can. Fans of this brand of humor will be sucked into whatever kind of project it’s linked to; which will undoubtedly result in huge volumes of traffic for the Omaze web addresses highlighted in the final shots.

Execution – 8 / 10

Great lines, a stellar cast and a more than ample contribution from Stiller are bound to make this commercial incredibly effective at drawing in millennials. Although some elements of this “spin off” style sequence leave much to be desired, most other examples of ads that feed off the popularity of franchises usually incorporate far less substance. The script for this piece is captivating, highlights the core call to actions, and does it all without deviating too far from the appeal of the original Dodgeball flavor.