Believe

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"A hero is more than a person, a hero is a belief. A belief that, against impossible odds, the world can be saved—and that the world is still worth saving. Heroes inspire that belief in us. They renew our faith and give us that most precious of all gifts—hope. The world needs heroes. That's why, when a true hero arrives, the world will honor him."

— Xbox.com introduction of "Believe".

Believe is a Microsoft marketing campaign for Halo 3 produced by New Deal Studios. It features the word "Believe" as a tagline, and appears to be honoring the legacy of SPARTAN-117, citing him as a hero of the United Nations Space Command whose brave actions inspired other servicemen during the Human-Covenant War.

It includes handouts, live-action TV commercials, magazine page advertisements, and Xbox live marketplace ads.

Media

Websites

(Note the Websites are defunct now. Anything that can be found is either on its relevant page or on this page)

• Diorama - An interactive flash movie, a part of the Believe campaign for Halo 3. It is a fly through of the John-117 Monument, and was be viewed at the Halo 3 website.
• On Xbox.com, there was a collection of photographs from war photographer Jake Courage titled "Shooting a Hero".

Trailers

• Testimonials - These were a set of 4 videos showcasing veterans of the Human-Covenant war reminiscing over the Second Battle of New Mombasa.
  • Museum - A live-action TV commercial featuring Retired Major Pawel Czernek, a UNSC veteran that fought in the Battle of New Mombasa alongside SPARTAN-117, reminiscing of his memories of the inspiring hero.
  • Hunted - A live-action TV commercial.
  • Enemy Weapon - A live-action TV commercial.
  • Gravesite - A live-action TV commercial that explores the battleground and talks of Spartan 117's "death".

• Diorama - There were two videos made focusing on the Diorama itself.
  • Believe: The John 117 Monument - A live-action online video, describing the in-universe construction of the memorial diorama.
  • Diorama - A video showcasing several parts of the diorama.

• Shooting a Hero - A trailer detailing the photos of John-117 that Jake Courage took.
  • Making of Shooting a Hero - Making of the photos for the art gallery and Xbox.com site.

Events

• Believe - A pamphlet distributed at the Project Revolution musical festival, featuring in-universe musical presentation of the UNSC Symphony Orchestra.
• Believe Plaques - Plaques were displayed in several locations. The dates on some of these plaques are canonically incorrect, describing Human-Covenant War events involving John-117 happening in mid-2553 and later, despite the fact that the war had ended and John was Missing In Action by that time.
• Art Galleries - Several photographs were shown in art galleries in the UK that were photos by Jake Courage.

Trivia

Production notes

• The creators of the campaign were not informed of the story of Halo 3, leading to multiple inconsistencies with the narrative depicted in Believe and the game's story. However, according to Jeff Easterling on September 9, 2018 it was canon "for now".
• Stan Winston Studio was responsible for the diorama featured in the Halo 3 Believe ads.
• The melody that was used in the Believe commercials was created by Polish pianist Frédéric Chopin and is called "Preludes #15, Raindrop".

References

• In the Halo 3: ODST campaign levels Mombasa Streets and Tayari Plaza, there are several graffiti where the player can read BELIEVE, a reference to the Halo 3 marketing campaign.
  • There is one particular area in Mombasa Streets though that has 117 in bullet holes next one of the BELIEVE graffiti.
• A new trailer released for Devolver Digtial and Croteam's Serious Sam HD entitled "Seriously Believe" is an obvious tribute or parody to the Believe campaign, utilizing a selection of frozen in-game views in place of the models, a similar track, and a black screen at the end with the words "Seriously Believe" appearing, very similar to the original "Believe" trailer, before showing the game's logo.
• A trailer for the Spartan Showdown event in Epic Games and Mediatonic's Fall Guys is a tribute or parody to the Believe campaign. The uses a rendition of the same song used the Believe Diorama while the camera moves about a "diorama" of many of the game's jellybean-shaped characters posed in various positions; all the while, a pink character walks around the scene. The camera moves to the top of the diorama where a character dressed as John-117 is posed alongside a Jiralhanae Chieftain, who is reaching for a crown. The camera zooms in on a ball that the John-117 character is holding, and then cuts to his visor, mirroring the end of the Believe Diorama trailer, revealing its eyes. It then cuts to a black screen displaying a strange language that translates to "Woo!" and transitions to "BELIEVE". The trailer ends with the pink character trying to grab the crown, knocking it down along with the John-117 and Chieftain characters, transitioning to the event's title card.

Gallery

Promotional images

• 

  Print ad for the Believe campaign.

• 

  Close up of the medal from the Believe campaign print ad.

• 

  Guardian interview on Jake Courage.

• 

  Xbox Believe Jack Courage overview.

• 

  Believe stamps.

Jake Courage site

• 

  JakeCourage.com Venue page.

• 

  Jake Courage Website. Image 1

• 

  Jake Courage Website. Image 4

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  Jake Courage Website. Image 15

• 

  Jake Courage Website. Part of Image 19

• 

  Jake Courage Website. Image 21

• 

  Jake Courage exhibition. Text 11, 17. Image 6, 8

Plaques

• 

  A plaque displayed in an unknown location dated July 23, 2553.

• 

  A plaque displayed in an unknown location dated October 3, 2554.

See also

• The Next War