Our challenge: Make a niche game mainstream.The creative idea: Promote the game to mainstream action gamers with an unlikely advocate.Dead Space was one of the most grotesque games in history – a game that sold very well to horror fans. With Dead Space 2, Electronic Arts wanted to increase sales by growing the audience to include mainstream action gamers. To do that, we needed to find a fresh, universal way to get new people to consider the game.The answer was simple: your mom.Not everyone wanted to play a game full of frightening violence, copious bloodshed, and gratuitous gore, but all gamers could relate to wanting to play a game their mom hates.We filmed the reactions of over 200 real moms while we subjected them to the worst of Dead Space 2. They all hated it. Their responses became the backbone of our campaign – the stronger their opinions were, the more compelling the work became.Soon, the responses turned into memes. Our videos were re-cut and customized. #yourmomhatesthis became an enormously successful Twitter hashtag. And this human truth created buzz for the game among a new, broader audience.Our break from the niche was successful. By week five, Dead Space 2 had sold 781,000 units, outselling the original Dead Space title by a 2:1 ratio in the critical five-week launch window, and exceeding sales that would reasonably be expected of an action game by over 132,000 units (Source: vgchartz.com). Thanks to motherly disapproval, Dead Space 2 found its place on the mainstream action gamer’s shelf.