Grand Theft Auto: Vice City might not have started the whole Miami Vice aesthetic, often characterised by stylised color palettes like neon pinks and teals, pixelated palm tree silhouettes, wireframe grids, sports cars and glowing grid horizons, but the game and, most recently, Grand Theft Auto VI, are surely to blame for the recent surge of companies using similar themed art as part of their marketing.
As a matter of fact, the colorway has become so synonymous with GTA 6 now that, over the past week, companies like Hyundai, BMW, and Burger King, have styled select social media posts to look like GTA 6 promo art.
The look is unmistakably GTA 6 by now. Saturated colors, tropical Vice City lighting, dramatic sunsets, neon, glossy reflections and hyper-detailed close-ups that could pass for a Rockstar loading screen. They're a perfect fit for cars and bikes, which is why automotive brands jumped first, but it has spread well beyond them.
The best part? None of these are an official partnership. This is just companies riding the hype on their own.
Brands That Recently Copied the GTA 6 Art Style
Brand | Industry |
|---|---|
Hyundai | Automotive |
BMW | Automotive |
Mercedes-Benz | Automotive |
Yamaha | Motorcycles |
Burger King | Fast food |
T-Mobile | Telecom |
Turtle Beach | Gaming gear |
Paris FC and PSG | Soccer |
A sample of the brands styling their posts to look like GTA 6 art.
The timing of the surge is anything but random. These companies know what they are doing. The wave took off right after the GTA 6 album teasers and artist posts in mid-September, when the GTA 6 aesthetic was everywhere at once and still is. Several brands saw a look pulling massive engagement and borrowed it. It is opportunistic real-time marketing, the kind that costs nothing but a good art director and a trending style to copy.
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It's not the first time this has happened. Call of Duty, Halo and Fall Guys were already copying the GTA 6 teaser image years ago. It's just, now, the trend has jumped the video game industry fence into the wider corporate world, which is a different level of reach.
When companies like Paris FC, T-Mobile, Bob the Dealer and Hyundai are copying your art direction, the aesthetic has gone properly mainstream.
It is another sign of how far GTA 6 has spread before it is even out. Rockstar Games has not spent a cent to make Hyundai or Yamaha post like this. The game's marketing has simply set the visual trend for the season, with everyone else following it for free. This is the kind of cultural reach money cannot buy that gives Take-Two Interactive reason to believe that GTA 6 will help the company grow beyond video games and entertainment.