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Orange and Publicis Conseil launched 'Cultural Avatars #MaxYourIdentity', so the gamers who want to represent their skins from their various regions can proudly wear their traditional outfits from Africa and the Middle East in games such as 'The Witcher' and 'Minecraft'.
Everything started with a simple statement: Africa and the Middle East have the highest growth worldwide of gamers but are completely absent in the games when it comes to representation. None of the video games offer a variety of skins that represents the regions.
To be able to promote the cultural as well as traditional garments from these regions in video games, telecommunication services company Orange launched Cultural Avatars #MaxYourIdentity, an initiative developed by Publicis Conseil.
The goal of this campaign is to have the gamers feel represented in their own skins and local outfits from their various regions. Therefore, they can proudly wear their traditional outfits from Africa and the Middle East in games such as “The Witcher” and “Minecraft”, two of the bestselling games of all time.
With so many interesting figures, monsters and memorable characters existing in those two overly popular games, #maxyouridentity cultural avatars become an important symbol for these gamers that are attached to their roots to be offered alternative demographic appearances. Gamers are very diverse in terms of gender, ethnicity, demographics etc. and having more representation in gaming is surely laudable.
In the video games we play, the design of characters, their look, their outfits impacts the degree to which players engage with, and relate to the stories that unfold. Therefore, offering gamers the possibilities to embody their own culture and select the digital self-representation they wish to have helps create a more diverse and welcoming gaming community.
A Collaboration with young stylists from these regions to grow their potential
But that’s not all. To be able to grow the potential of young talents, Orange decided to partner with three young designers issued from different countries in Africa and the Middle East. Yasmine El Tazi designed the Middle East and northern African costumes; Ibrahim Fernandez worked on the sub-Saharan region and Marie-Laure Jaomatana worked on Madagascar. They poured their vision, artistic touch as well as respecting the traditional clothing to fit into the world of video games. These outfits that they created helped contribute to the creation of the various shades of skins.
The different outfits as well as skins were revealed to the public during the final E-sport competition organized by Orange in Abidjan on the 29th of January 2023. This regional competition was created to bring out young gaming talents in that region. At the same time participants were able to discover the traditional outfits--unique garnments worn by models from these regions. To promote this event, Orange partnered with gamers and influencers fromthe world over.
Gaming has flourished into the largest entertainment sector in the world, powered by 3 billion players who are as diverse as the world itself, therefore representation within games does matter. And such initiatives contribute to improving diversity and inclusivity within gaming.
CREDITS
Orange Middle East & Africa:
Sélima Ben Amara – Communication Commercial & Sponsoring Orange MEA Director
Rawia Ben Zakour – Coordinator of joint campaigns
Publicis Conseil:
Marco Venturelli – CEO/CCO
Romulus Petcan – Creative Director / Copywriter
Gabriel Gherca – Creative Director / Art Director
Morgan Carrio - Copywriter
Edgar Heusch – Art Director
Lois Loiolino – Assistant Art Director
Clément Salgado – Motion Designer
Olivier Verdy – 3D Graphic Designer
Boris Langlois – Sales Manager
Samira Maarouf – Consulting Director
Noureddine Kamal – Client Manager
Saruka Thayaparan – Advertising Manager
Stylistes/Designers:
Yasmine El Tazi – Egypt
Ibrahim Fernandez – Ivory Coast
Marie-Laure Jaomatana – Madagascar
Production:
Busterwood – Skin Production
