As Kingdom Hearts 3 still basks in its successful reception and sales, the series is now looking to help address a serious topic in collaboration with the Ad Council. A Kingdom Hearts 3 anti-bullying video has been produced as part of the Ad Council’s “Because of You” campaign, and, as the video will attest down below, it’s just as surreal as it sounds. Still, it fits in nicely with the game’s key themes.
The news comes in a press release [via GamesPress] from Kingdom Hearts 3 creators Square Enix. In the release, the Japanese company states “the goal of inspiring teens to build a more inclusive and welcoming community.” The Kingdom Hearts 3 anti-bullying video is aimed at encouraging gaming teens to more carefully consider the impact of their actions. According to Square Enix, this is the first time that the Ad Council has collaborated with a video game publisher on a campaign video.
“At its core, the Kingdom Hearts series is about the power of friendship and helping those in need in order to overcome darkness,” said Senior Manager of Product Marketing at Square Enix, Brendan Docherty.
Anastasia Goodstein, Senior Vice President of Digital Product Management for the Ad Council went into more detail about the “Because of You” campaign, “Because of You is all about how your actions, for better or for worse, can have a big impact on those around you, and helping teens think about how those decisions could affect others.”
The need for a campaign like this is highlighted by a shocking statistic, one that is noted in the press release. Over two-thirds of teens believe they’ve experienced bullying, but the majority of teens don’t think they are contributors to the problem. You can learn more about the anti-bullying campaign at BecauseOfYou.org.
Kingdom Hearts 3 seems to have been a consistent source of goodwill ever since released. If you’ve yet to play the latest instalment in the Kingdom Hearts franchise and want to get to grips with the story first, here’s what you need to play.