Famed studio decided to build Portal 2 commercial with in-house team

Ad agencies are almost pointless – Valve

Tired of ‘copycat’ campaigns, Valve has built the Portal 2 TV ads itself.

Because, it says, no one knows how to market a game better than the people that made it.

The studio said unoriginal ideas and late meetings make the value of creative agencies ‘pretty close to worthless’.

“No one knows the product better than the folks who made it,” Valve’s marketing VP Doug Lombardi told MCV.

“We’ve had many creative kick-off meetings with agencies over the years, and you’d be shocked by the treatments that have come back. Copycat treatments. Cliché treatments. Treatments that reveal the agency wasn’t listening in the initial meeting."

MCV has the full story

About MCV Staff

Check Also

gcdev announcement 2025 [Event news] gamescom dev announces opening keynote by Amir Satvat and first program highlights

[Event news] gamescom dev announces opening keynote by Amir Satvat and first program highlights

gamescom dev has announced the first major program highlights for its 2026 edition, including an opening keynote by Amir Satvat, new curated content tracks, and the first wave of speakers.