Jake from State Farm NBA 2K22
Category:
Gaming

State Farm Drip Is the Kind of Video Game Cringe I Live For Which Means I’m Going to Hell

Like a good marketing campaign by the basketball courts, State Farm is there.
Image of Briana Lawrence
Briana Lawrence
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Published: Sep 13, 2021 09:08 am

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Sports video games aren’t exactly my forte unless if it involves the Mushroom Kingdom or an announcer screaming HE’S ON FIRE, but bizarre real-life marketing campaigns in video games? Yeah, you had me at “Jake from State Farm is in NBA 2K22.”

Released last week on multiple versions of XBOX and PlayStation, I honestly can’t tell you how the game itself is. What I can tell you is that there’s a career mode where you can make your own future NBA hopeful. There’s also an online open-world mode (The City) where you can shop, shoot hoops, and be welcomed to the neighborhood by Jake from State Farm.

That last bit of information came courtesy of Capybaroness on Twitter who shared footage of the encounter along with the State Farm Drip.

This is the part where I tell everyone that I unapologetically love shit like this and have for a while.

First, the obvious question: how much did State Farm pay to have this done? It’s one thing to have an in-game sign for an insurance company (or, in that Crazy Taxi example, Pizza Hut out of nowhere), but this is an entire voice-acted, in-game character who has been intergraded into the story.

Someone PAID someone to fanboy over the phrase, “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.”

Then there’s the part where it’s revealed that this isn’t the first time the NBA 2K series has done something that induced second-hand embarrassment for whoever took the time to record footage and share it on Twitter dot com.

Also, there’s a Jake from State Farm conspiracy?!

But throughout all of this, my absolute favorite moment is the folks chiming in about how video game companies just be out here doing this. At this point in my ongoing video gaming history, the wackier the product placement is, the more I love it. Don’t just try and get me to buy a thing because it’s a billboard in Vice City, I want something that’s gonna trend online because only the bravest cosplayer who wants to go all-in on the joke would dare to rock something like this.

Real talk, though? It could’ve been a lot more… Cool Spot.

I mean we did get Sneak King, didn’t we?

And I will never let anyone forget this:

Jake from State Farm dating sim when?!

Don’t play with my emotions like this!

(Image: 2K Games)

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Author
Image of Briana Lawrence
Briana Lawrence
Briana (she/her - bisexual) is trying her best to cosplay as a responsible adult. Her writing tends to focus on the importance of representation, whether it’s through her multiple book series or the pieces she writes. After de-transforming from her magical girl state, she indulges in an ever-growing pile of manga, marathons too much anime, and dedicates an embarrassing amount of time to her Animal Crossing pumpkin patch (it's Halloween forever, deal with it Nook)
twitter Link to www.magnifiquenoir.com