Sony Launches £82m Ad Push for PlayStation 3 Across Europe

Sony is to launch an £82m pan-European marketing campaign for the PlayStation 3, firing the first advertising salvo against rivals Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox as consumers start to think about presents for Christmas 2009.

The TV element of the campaign, which has been developed by the TBWA agency, marks a complete departure from Sony's traditional tactic of often esoteric and dark commercials.

[Lfmesquite]

The last time I saw decent advertisement for PS3 was during Fall 2007, when they were with those octopus commercials and the $399 price tag all over them.

I expect the same thing this year, plenty of commercials and $299 all over. And now they have a logo also. No more spiderman font crap.

[Zedux]

this is massive!!! way to go Sony it feels so rewarding to know i got it right with my money!!

[shine1396]

but that music is pretty horrible. and what happened to kaz comments about returning it to its core values of being a game console...

[KenGoSONY]

This one is just the beginning of marketing strategy to anticipate holiday season at the end of year 2009. It'll be huge and better, you won't be disappointed.

kk

[clixx33]

I want huge posters of the Playstation 3 like they had for Killzone 2. :)

[Carl1412]

Holy ****. I rarely see PS3 adverts here in the UK - £82 million across Europe is one hell of an amount for them to spend seeing as they usually spend £2 million tops when a new game comes out.

We need some like those Christmas 07 ones - with that Saliva track in the background :)

[gaffyh]

@1.2 - The core value is there. The tagline has been changed to "The game is just the start", focuses on gaming, but also the fact that there is a lot more features. It would be incredibly stupid not to tout those features, because then the uninformed consumer would see no difference between Xbox 360 and PS3, except price, and then buy the 360.

[Sarevok]

''The last time I saw decent advertisement for PS3 was during Fall 2007, when they were with those octopus commercials and the $399 price tag all over them.''

Lord Cthulhu made the ps3 ads for 07.
ia' Cthulhu fhtagn!

[Raf1k1]

We need some in-game footage in these ads. Preferably Uncharted2 and a more casual game.

[Keowrath]

Raf1k1

Uncharted2, GoW III, GT5, LBP, Killzone2 and White Knight Story or Demons Soul covers pretty much all bases.

It is nice to finally see Sony advertise their product... Bit late but better late than never. In the UK, you see Wii ads all the time and Microsoft really push their games on release (even if the game is on PS3 as well even tho the Sony machine never usually gets a mention)

Hopefully this huge amount of money will pay off and maybe, just maybe Sony will realise that if you advertise something well it helps with sales.

[krisq]

I'm sure they're coming. Sony's changing their attitude lately. They know there is no place for mistakes anymore. Console war has just started.

[creeping judas]

I agree. The uneducated consumer will just look at price tags. They need to push 1stly that the ps3 is a gaming console with free online, and 2ndly its a multimedia console with bluray built right in. Other wise it's back to the price tag.

[StanLee]

I'm impressed. Hats off to Sony.

[InfectedDK]

I think the old one for Europe were great.
Some of the American adds has been better though..
This new one is fine..

[a_squirrel]

@1.10
What war? lol It's just a lot of delusional idiots who thinks that their race is superior to others, which caused the others to try to prove why, and now we're all idiots

Oh, and by the way, that was a good commercial

[Maddens Raiders]

life cycle.

No one can phuck with that. It's the culmination of actual grown ups, sitting down and (((planning))) what they want to do instead of shytting out garbage in haste, as is the mark and wont of a leader who has won bloody battles in past history.

[Blaze929]

Isnt the PS3 already successful in Europe? Is this where they need to be focusing the most attention to? What about the United States, havent seen a PS3 as here in MONTHS.

[iown-ipwn-ikill]

OHHH RIGGHHHTT! DUFF MAN!

[Kill Crow]

Diet PS3 anyone?

[FlipMode]

Too little too late? lol you wish that 7 mil lead is getting smaller and smaller.

[commodore64]

actually, the lead is closer to 8 million.
official reports from sony and MS put the gap at 7.7 million.

.. and until about a week ago, that gap had been growing daily!

[iown-ipwn-ikill]

MIGHT I ADD, THAT ADVERT WAS ABSOLUTELY AWSUM

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

Micro$oft have a New Advert for 'Project Milo'
(which they stole off a PSP or was it a LBP Advert) -

"PLAY WITH EVERYTHING!!!" ;-D

[Saaking]

Sony is finally going to start taking things seriously. MS will soon be gone.

[presto717]

Haters and competitors beware.

[ElementX]

MS isn't going anywhere. With 30 million consoles sold you think they're just going to throw in the towel? They have a fanbase and will continue sellings 360s. It's just more affordable now for everyone to own more than one system.

[Erotic Sheep]

No Element... judging by the logic on N4G, as soon as Sony takes over 360 saleswise, Microsoft will just abandon the 360 and close down the company..

>_>'

[BigPappaPump]

It's about time.

[jack_burt0n]

meh its better than the beating heart crap, but still a naked cool female celebrity saying wow the ps3 has built in wifi, bluetooth, upgradable 120gb hdd, motion controllers, hd movies on demand, full internet browser, free online gaming and the best games available anywhere.

Is still better!!!! LOL

[Omega4]

Without showing actual games this ad could backfire, most PS3 owners dont even have HDTVs or use online so none of this stuff will matter to them. Sony should be focusing on ads for games thats what MS and Nintendo do and it works wonders.

But something is better than nothing

[peeps]

i agree. although at least these ads actually make sense now haha but still it seems they focus on advertising it more as an entertainment system saying "the games are just the start". well that may be true but i'm sure way more people spend £250 to play games and they'd prob benefit more by focusing on advertising the games, talking about exclusives etc

[Karum]

The amount of PSN accounts (albeit yes some people have more than one account) disagrees with your statement that most PS3 users don't go online with their console.

[yoghurt]

This is only one of the ads, there are several versions. I'd imagine that the others will focus on different areas i.e. games

[Mnemonic-DK]

What? Do you have info to back that up?

I don't know anyone who doesn't have a HDTV - Hell, even my grandmother who's 96 has a HD TV - She even has net access!

[PirateThom]

My grandad, who just turned 70, has two HDs and net access.

You can't even buy SDTVs in most stores anymore.

[Omega4]

lol i cant believe you guys are comparing your grandparents (who probably got pensions) to young males who probably arent that rich.

Sure they may have a HDTV in their house but it doesnt mean its connected to the PS3 in their room, i can remember there being an article taking about this too.

All i know is the people who buy PS3s in the UK and EU are causal males who like sport and racing type games these are the kind of people who dont give a monkeys about online and dont care how the graphics look as long as they can play their games. Sony should have just focused on these games at least in europe anyway.

[devilhunterx]

remember that ad, where the camera turns around and you see the back of the head is all cut off. major gross out.

[PirateThom]

"All i know is the people who buy PS3s in the UK and EU are causal males who like sport and racing type games these are the kind of people who dont give a monkeys about online and dont care how the graphics look as long as they can play their games. Sony should have just focused on these games at least in europe anyway."

What complete and utter bullsh*t. You're looking more and more stupid the more you say, just stop.

[Mnemonic-DK]

I'm not comparing anyone to my grandparent - I'm telling you that I seriously don't know anyone that has a SD tv anymore.

Everyone has switched to HD. They are so cheap now that it makes sense to switch just for the savings on the electric bill. So in childrens bedrooms, clubs, public information screens on train stations, etc. all are HD.

The only sub-HD screens I can think of are in smartphones, GPS units and maybe portable DVD players in cars. Everything else is at least 720p-capable.

[twoface]

Yap Omega, you just go on believing your own propaganda. You go on living in a world called the year 2003 (or whenever it is when HDTVs were just introduced).

Come on, anyone who buys a TV now buys a HDTV.
That said, bye~ I'm going shopping for a SDTV. /obvious sarcasm

[bobdog626]

and this is Sony's Big Ad.Sony you have to do better than that to stay in this game this time around. the Pro has been lowered to 249 and your still playing around with these guy's .Fire the staff and start fresh.that's my take on this Ad.

[Handsome_Devil]

Here in holland, in about every commercial break there is a PS3 Ad. going. thats a thing I have been noticing for the past three days.

the one I saw is similar to this one, but they were actually talking about games, not features only.

[crillyconlig]

they should be blasting that into everyones living room via ads, its a massive advantage the ps3 has

[TheMART]

So Sony pushes a BluRay player? Did I just got the right message from them? Its about the BluRay movies and TV players?

EDIT

@ the SDF dragqueen (below)

Where are the games my dear in this TV spot?

You go shut up yourself. Testosteron dikes that shout this much should be send to a deserted island somewhere.

WHERE ARE THE GAMES IN THE COMMERCIALS? They want to sell more PS3's as BluRay players first, so they'll sell even worse on the games? So that games like KZ2, Resistance, LittleBigPlanet, Motorstorm 2 and MGS4 have to drop their prices to 29,95 within 4 to 6 months after they launched? That's what you want?

[ultimolu]

For f*ck's sake, SHUT UP.

Seriously.

[Keowrath]

LOL, Leave him to it Ultimolu. He's commenting in the "special" zone so you kind of expect a "special" comment from him. TheMART will never change and besides, most of his comments are pure commedy gold!

EDIT: Hey Marty, check out comment No.5 in the Gamer zone (That's if you are able to view, not sure how the banning on this site works) Handsome Devil says that in Sweden there is another ad that talks all about the games. I guess £82 million on 1 single type of advert would be a bit silly... or to put it so you can understand "Special"

[PirateThom]

Don't even get me started on Microsoft's ad from last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Mr Face Creamer]

You Sony slaves never cease to amaze me, your comebacks make me wanna laugh my ass off.

See PirateThom, Kaz Hirai, Sir Ken Kuturagi and Nelson M for a common example.

[BBCnewsrocks]

Logic dictates that Sony will use £82 million to make one commercial right.

/sarcasm.

[ultimolu]

Hey look, the F*g at XBoxQueens has the nerve to call me a dragqueen! Keep on insulting people you don't even know outside of the internet dear. You aren't hurting my feelings. Why don't you take that Flop60 of yours and shove it up your crusty ass?

And 360 hun, you aren't even worth my time.

[Erotic Sheep]

*reads above posts*

Lawl.. my god people, get a room.

On topic: Honestly, I kinda agree with Mart on here. I know this isn't the only commercial Sony would broadcast, but still.. BBC player??? Just show Uncharted, Gran Turismo or even some Killzone / Infamous. Throw a game in it, if Sony wants to sell the complete package, SHOW the complete package.

Off-topic: I'm gonna buy Batman next week >____> \o/

[Captain Tuttle]

Every once in awhile I'll pop into the Open Zone and I'm never disappointed! I come for the trolling but stay for the laughs.

[ultimolu]

I hope they do this in the U.S too.

[Keowrath]

That's what I was thinking, Seems the US needs the biggest push as far as buying the Sony console is concerned. Sony would be stupid to not do a similar marketing campaign in one of their weaker areas.

[ultimolu]

Extra stupid, I agree.

[devilhunterx]

SONY could have saved a lot of money by getting some PS3 fanboys to make the commercials. And give them a prize or something.

[Knightrid808]

I can't see the video.

[imnotgoodtenglish]

The free zone is for retards i mean just look at the comments.Also the new design and logo for ps3 starts to grown on me....its not too bad.

[xg-ei8ht]

US is really where they need to focus the new ad campaign.

If SONY took the US. It's game over man.

[TheMART]

Damn Sony missed out on a great opportunity to rename

PLAYSTATION 3

to

BluRayStation 3

To sell more BluRay movies. They already drop games in price just after launch to get rid of stock in shops: MGS4, Motorstorm 2, LBP, Resistance 2 and now even KZ2. KZ2 costed 60 mln. dollars and sold 1.5 mln. copies, maybe even as much as 50% of them bundled with a PS3 given away.

Sony is retarded not displaying the games! You still can rename it Sony, you can do it just make it

PS3

to

BS3 aka BluRayStation 3

[PirateThom]

Enjoy your MovieBox 360.

[BBCnewsrocks]

He's still bitter about HD-DVD. You need to let it go man.

[hesido]

No more creepy commercials that nobody except a few artistic elite understands.. Focus on games, for example..

[Meus Renaissance]

It's a games machine yet I saw nothing about games in that video. They are still pushing it as a media platform

[dazzalfc]

Whilst i agree with you that Sony needs to focus more on the gaming front, we have to remember that these generations are not just about the games anymore, but about all aspects of media.

Never before have we had consoles capable of so much in terms of different media. Maybe Sony feel that the games alone will thrive by themselves, and have different adverts for the top titles planned (for instance, pushing Uncharted 2 more and forcing that its exclusive to Ps3, or using the Microsoft tactic of cutting deals to advertise multiplatform titles as an 'exclusive' experience).

Plus, this is just one advert, i'd expect Sony to be doing more adverts to show different things. And lets not forget, it only lasts about 20 seconds :D And there's a ton of stuff to cram inside that amount of time

[Raf1k1]

Maybe because it is a media platform which is why it makes use of so many different types of media.

Would be nice for them to have some ads focussing on different aspects of the PS3 as well as ads like this.

edit: Yeah a GT5 ad would be awsome. I'm starting to think it'll simply be a matter a time before we see it. I'm looking forward to seeing all the ads Sony comes up with.

[Mario]

This is just one advert, im sure there are others focusing on games. They should really do an advert for GT5. It'll blow everyone away

[FlipMode]

And right before the holiday season too, Sony is gonna make a killing.

[djreplay]

Any 1 remember the girl with the alien head from the ps1 adverts, i think they should bring her back

[benny o klaatt]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

The thing that really freaked me out about the advert wasn't so much the alien head, it was more the scottish accent!! j/k

[PirateThom]

I really wish Sony would get David Lynch on board again...

That said, I really like those Japanese ads, I seriously wish they were worldwide. They don't answer any questions and don't ask any, just show the Slim PS3 and the price and that's to me gets interest by showing something they don't expect.

[Cajun Chicken]

HELL YES! By Jove Sony! You're finally advertising properly!!!

[bobdog626]

Start Start what ?what's with the popcorn flying around.im telling you that you must do better than that to get people attention.Microsoft must be LOL there @$$ off right now.No God of War no MAG no COD no nothing.This is what i mean no GTA no Uncharted.This Ad is very Cute and that's what's wrong about it.

[NaViTo]

Man, calm down. This is only one advert, and this advert shows the multimedia capabilities of the console.

I'm very sure that will be more adverts featuring Uncharted 2 and Gran Turismo 5 footage this christmas. Well, and the many other awesome games that PS3 have on his system.

[Socomer 1979]

Cmon mart, who cares that sony playstations are gonna steamroll all over xbox360 to embarass them again for another generation.
nobody.

who cares that xbox360 doesnt have any hardcore games like littlebigplanet & uncharted 2?
nobody.

see? the only thing that bothers you about the ps3 is the xbox360 that still lives under its shadow even though its supposedly in third place. Nobody talks about the xbox360. not even you.
a nobody.

[xztence]

Gotta love the 360 trolls rushin in here for some damage control to still their fear.

What's wrong? can't handle such a large move by Sony?
Deal with it.

It won't take long anymore.

Join the darkside, You know you want to :)

[jjohan35]

Sony's marketing has been horrible in recent years. Looking forward to the assertive change.

[psthreee]

3fixme?

[striped94]

I personally think this is a solid advertisment.
Anyone who is on Sony's @$$ for this should take look at Microsoft's ad ;P
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Edit:Props to PirateThom but I dont think anyone saw his post mixed in with Mart's biased comments.

[Amir51]

Its about f*cking time