New Activision Publishing CEO may have best resume of all time

Today’s appointment of Eric Hirshberg as CEO of Activision Publishing rounds out a nine-month search by the company and will fill the hole left by the promotion of Mike Griffith earlier this year.  

Activision’s excited about the move for a number of reasons, but gamers should be excited because Eric Hirshberg might have the coolest freakin’ resume of all time.

Sure he has the executive credentials. As CEO and chief creative officer of Deutsch LA, he has spent the last 13 years building one of the most respected advertising and marketing firms in the country.

Cool resume fact #1 – Hirshberg was the mind behind Kevin Butler, the omni-titled “spokesperson” for the PlayStation in Sony’s hit ad campaign, says Activision-Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

“Why that’s so important and what it tells you about his mindset is [that campaign] recognized that the audience’s voice mattered more than anything else,” says Kotick. “I think the success of Sony’s marketing came from having someone whose voice reflected the audience.”

Cool resume fact #2 – Hirshberg directed Bon Jovi’s “Have A Nice Day” music video.

'nuff said.

Cool resume fact #3 – He contributed the well-known “Hope Changes Everything” video to the Obama campaign.

Whether you’re Republican or Democrat and regardless of your feeling about the current administration, it certainly doesn’t hurt for a gaming company to have some ties, however tenuous, to the Oval Office – especially with the Supreme Court hearing arguments in October about whether states should have the right to regulate the sale of violent video games. Games like, oh, “Call of Duty” perhaps?

Cool resume fact #4 – The guy has pipes!

 Hirschberg has released two independent CDs as a singer/songwriter. Liz Phair called one of those - "Wish I Was Here" - "a rare peek behind the male veil" and contributed backing vocals to one track. Take a listen to the CD here.

Let’s face it, you’re probably not gonna hear John Riccitiello singing anything from “Rock Band” in public – but the fact that you could hear Hirschberg take on a track or two from “Guitar Hero” is kind of … well, cool. 

Sure, there are plenty of business reasons Hirshberg was hired - and I'll cover those in tomorrow's Daily Variety - but Activision Publishing is definitely getting a CEO with some personality.