To launch Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, we needed to reach a new generation of gamers who weren’t engaging through traditional media—TV, OOH, digital, or even standard social feeds. This audience lives in chat threads, DMs, group texts, and on Discord—spaces where brands can’t typically reach. So, we had to find a way to not just show up, but to be part of the conversation itself. Activision was bringing back The Replacer—Call of Duty’s beloved stand-in character who handles your responsibilities so you can play—and our challenge was to inject him directly into the culture of social and digital conversations. We knew that more than ever, audiences are communicating in the language of GIFs—short, expressive, and instantly shareable reactions that speak louder than text. But, instead of just creating branded GIFs to sit alongside the rest, we found a way to make Call of Duty the punchline, the reaction, the reply. We embedded The Replacer directly into the way gamers talk to each other every day. But we didn’t just create branded GIFs. We partnered with GIPHY to do something never done before: replace GIPHY’s most popular and commonly used GIFs with custom versions starring The Replacer. Our goal was to “crash” players’ conversations organically—making it feel like The Replacer had truly shown up everywhere, even in your group chat. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration with GIPHY, we identified the top 12 reaction GIFs most used by gamers. Then we recreated them, frame by frame, with actor Peter Stormare as The Replacer. Every detail—from props and costumes to lighting and backdrops—was obsessively crafted, while injecting The Replacer’s signature humor. On launch day, GIPHY executed a platform-wide takeover. For 48 hours, when users searched for their favorite GIFs across iMessage, Reddit, Discord, Android, Slack, and more—they found The Replacer. The response was instant and explosive. With over 200 million impressions in just two days, the GIFs permeated message threads, comment sections, and private chats worldwide. Gamers felt in on the joke. And The Replacer, once again, handled everything—even internet culture itself—so you could play. This wasn’t just GIFs. It was Call of Duty crashing the conversation—exactly where gamers are today.