What do Ben Stiller, John Travolta, and Lebron James all have in common? They’re die hard God of War fans, at least according to a hilarious new promo video for the upcoming God of War Ragnarök.
Stiller, in full Kratos makeup, leads a chat with the two men and their offspring. Travolta’s daughter Ella appears, and so does James’ son, Bronny. Sony obviously dished out a pretty penny for the ad, because it looks great.
Perhaps the funniest part of an ad swimming in funny parts (Travolta saying he also wants a “LeBreakthrough” is a highlight) is the fact that it’s never quite explained what’s going on. Is it a support group? It is, apparently, but we only know that because of the video description:
“What could real parents learn from the relationship between Kratos and Atreus? Whether you’re a famous celebrity or a troubled god, parenting is always a work in progress. Just ask parent support group leader, Ben Stiller, as he explains to LeBron James, John Travolta and their children how the father/son dynamic in God of War Ragnarok can inspire us all to become better parents—especially when wearing the Kratos costume.”
The parent/offspring throughline, however, is an obvious parallel to the fictional God of War’s relationship with his own son, who he (kind-of) affectionately calls “Boy.”
The ad is called “All Parents Can Relate,” and it’s one of those that just needs to be seen. Eric Lempel, SVP, Global Head of Marketing with Sony Interactive Entertainment, told EW the company wanted to promote the title in a new way not seen before.
“When we go to market with a massive title like God of War Ragnarök, it’s a company-wide effort. The title is a beloved franchise that is representative of the PlayStation brand and has continued to excite millions of fans over the years. To launch the latest installment we wanted to take an innovative approach that combined both traditional and non-traditional routes; I challenged our team to come up with new strategies to take this title to the market.”
Stiller told EW that “trying to make LeBron James laugh was fun” during the ad and that the basketball star enjoys to improv as much as Stiller does.
“So he was making me laugh too. There was a bit about his headband he came up with and since we don’t really know each other, and I didn’t know his sense of humor, it was fun to see that he enjoyed that and played off it. Felt the same with John Travolta — both iconic figures — and John really plays in the moment. It was great to have a chance to act with him, since I have been a fan forever.”
James said the shoot was “so much fun” that he doesn’t think he “laughed that much on set ever.”
God of War Ragnarök continues the story of Kratos and his son and releases on Nov. 9 for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles.