Last year Microsoft launched the “Believe” advertising campaign for Halo 3. The brilliant video was a slow sweeping shot of a diorama showcasing a battle in the Halo universe. It was an altogether different take on video game advertising, and I heralded it as something groundbreaking for the industry. Especially when a typical ad involves quick cuts and things blowing up. Now Rare and Microsoft have teamed up to recreate last year’s genius.

This time the overlying emotional theme is pure sarcastic brilliance. “Believe Piñata” uses the same diorama technique as the camera pans around to see surprised looking piñatas along with some explosions that juxtapose the hilarity of these colorful creatures sitting around. Of course the same piano melody plays over the video of piñatas as was heard in “Believe.”

The ad is the most absurdly simple concept and it is executed perfectly. And hey, millions bought Halo 3 so I’m sure Microsoft would want the same for Viva Pinata. With the weak sales of the first game we weren’t even sure MS would want to go back for a sequel.