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“The commercial will engage you with captivating visuals of intense communal excitement..”
Ref: Sony PlayStation® Australia
From a perspective of a typical multimedia person, The “Mountain“,Sony PlayStation® ad has got to be one of the best ads of the decade. What a brilliant combination of video, special effects and vintage Shirley Temple track – Get on Board Lil’ Children.
EFFECTIVE
The “Mountain” is a part of PlayStation® new “fun, anyone?” brand campaign. As always PlayStation® manages to stay in touch with their audience and customers in a way that Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonalds and other giants could only imagine. While everyone else is trying to be cool and hip, PlayStation® actively seeks and attempts to tap into all the possible wavelengths of the youth today. Needles to say – their success in this field is immense.
FRESH
PlayStation® commercials are always fresh, quirky, weird and different. It seems that by bombarding the audience with the unknown and strange we can actually wake the sleepy minds that have been trained to filter out all forms of advertisement. Shock techniques are not a new thing but there is something different with the ad serial coming from PlayStation®.
ARTISTIC
Every PlayStation® ad that we see on TV seems to be a carefully crafted short film with a true artistic value behind the commercial facade. They are not necessarily dark and mean – often they are vibrant, innovative and uplifting.
REALISTIC
The mountain ad simply makes you feel happy after you see it. And what’s beautiful about it is that there is no transparency in their visual effects technology. Everyone today knows that almost anything is achievable by video effects and 3D animation but this ad simply leaves one in doubt – is it for real?
PRODUCTION
The producer of this commercial, Frank Bugden has used over 500 extras, and a production team of 300 people. Frank was assisted by some of the leading producers, directors and crew members with experience in gigantic cinema projects (e.g. Lord of the Rings). We won’t be giving any jewels away – you will have to visit Australian Playstation site for the Fun Anyone? 60 second video clip.
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QUALITY VS CHEAP ADVERTISING
I have a theory that revolves around TV being, not only the centre of the family home, but also a perceptive window and a portal to someone’s domestic environment. Many companies think only about launching their products and do not understand the true meaning of television in someone’s home.
As abstract as it sounds, the concept is really simple.
You don’t want someone with dirty shoes to enter your home and run around the brand new carpet. You don’t want someone incompetent and commercially driven stepping through your front door and giving your children lessons on attitude, fashion, style, food and culture.
So why would we let two guys screaming their guts out in our home?
“Once in a lifetime opportunity to buy cheap stuff, never to be missed out, product A, product B, product C – prices slashed!!! HURRY!!!” louder and louder, ruining the atmosphere in the house, disturbing and annoying the observer. This commercial trash should be classified as (XC) extreme commercial material so people have a chance to turn their volume down or change the channel.
PlayStation ads such as “The Mountain” bring innovation, fun and the quality content to our homes and that’s what all advertisers should strive to achieve – a polite and legal entry to someone’s household.
Well, in reality it isn’t all so bad. Most of the ads today are quite decent, but the real problem lies in the weak effectiveness on the viewer. Many techniques have been attempted, some more and some less successful.
REACHING THE AUDIENCE:
AVERAGING UP
Virgin Blue tries to get down to earth with their language and presentation in order to appeal on the average Joe. This reflects in their web site and TV promotional material such as a provocative “Sexy guy ad – (Virgin 2 Virgin 5 cents), which leads into a provocative sphere which also brings that fresh splash of reactions – both positive and negative – in any case better than no reaction at all.
ATTENTION GRABBING
Subway – have you noticed how some words in their ads deliberately skip and double up? That’s that crucial moment when everyone looks towards the screen. That’s the moment when they capture everyone’s attention. Mission accomplished.
Similar techniques have been used with other ads where producers make the quality of the audio in the ad sound really bad. This causes the ad to jump out of the grey sphere scoring a few curious looks. Well, the “Mountain” ad has achieved just that by Shirley Temple’s kiddie voice which brings that cheeky and happy atmosphere to the whole feature.
DOES IT WORK?
Grabbing the attention alone is not much of a useful process, unless someone is genuinely interested in the product. What’s more important is what happens in the viewer’s mind at the time.
During the commercial break we are all very likely to tune out of the TV program and use that time to talk to others, make coffee or just think about the program that we’ve just seen. By reacting to an “attention grabber” in advertisement, we step outside of our relaxed state and involve a bit of our intellectual effort to understand, classify, categorise, recognise and eventually react to the newly occurred event.
And THAT – is the moment where our brain opens up for input. Information that gets across at that time is far more effective than any other messages that appear on the screen at all other times.
HUMAN CURIOSITY
The human curiosity plays one of the major factors in the process of marketing and advertising. Remember the Vanilla Coke ad – and a guy peeking through the hole? Well that is more of an obvious advertisement implying to the new product and human need to try new things in order to satisfy the curiosity.
However, why stop there? Why watch someone else be curious, why not engage the audience, why don’t we make -them- curious? The element of curiosity can be used on many more indirect levels and in combination with current PlayStation marketing strategies, curiosity is one thing that could be explored a bit more.
Combining all these factors with a wonderful artistic ad style, PlayStation is bound to have, dared to say, one of the most effective marketing campaigns so far.
Next Article: Our TV advertisement story continues with the review of “Double Life” ad by PlayStation.
Sony Playstation Ad – “Mountain”
Original Soundtrack with Shirley Temple
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Shirley Temple
Song Lyrics
Get on Board, Lil’ Children
(Dimples 1936)
The gospel train is a comin’
I hear it yes at hand
I hear the car was movin’
And a rumblin’ through the land
Oh get on board, get on board, get on board
There’s room for many a more
I hear the bell and twinkle
A coming around the curve
She’s playing all her steaming power
And straining every nerve
Oh get on board, get on board, get on board
There’s room for many a more
The fare is cheap and all can go
The rich and poor are there
No second class on board this train
No difference in the fare
Oh get on board, get on board, get on board
There’s room for many a more
She’s there and now the station
Or better don’t be late
But come and get your ticket
And be ready for this train
Oh get on board, get on board, get on board
There’s room for many a more
Oh get on board, get on board,
get on board
Little children
There’s room for many a more
track: Shirley Temple: Get on Board Lil’ Children
(right click – save as…)
File Size: 1.63 Mb
QUICK FACTS:
- AWARDS: Frank Budgen is also the director of”Double Life” Sony Playstation ad in 1999. Sony ProMedia Commercial Award.
- ANALOGY / IDEA: “King of the Mountain”the game.
- LOCATION: The “Mountain” was shotin Brazil.
- PRODUCTION: GORGEOUS ENTERPRISES
Who also did:
17 Cosmetics (UK): Knockout
Adidas: Slugs
Honda (UK): Sense
Levi’s: Worn
NASCAR: The 12 Car
NASCAR: Dip
NASCAR: Finish Line
NASCAR: Pit Stop
NASCAR: Remote
Nike: Off Road
Nike: Pretzel
Nike: Shade Running
Nike: Streaker
Nike: Tag
NSPCC: Cartoon
PS2 (UK): Mountain
Reebok (UK): Sofa
Frank Budgen’s other work
Adidas: Slugs
Levi’s: Worn
Nike: Shade Running
Nike: Streaker
Nike: Tag
NSPCC: Cartoon
PS2 (UK): Mountain
Reebok (UK): Sofa
OTHER ADS BY SONY:
PlayStation 2 (UK): Mountain
PlayStation 2: Tractor Beam
PlayStation 2: Gravity Bomb
PlayStation 2 (UK): Winners & Losers
PlayStation 2 (UK): Dancing Robot
PlayStation 2 (UK): Laughing Mouth
PlayStation 2: Consequences
PlayStation 2: Signs
PlayStation 2: Eeeeee
PlayStation 2: Poles
PlayStation 2: Morphoray
PlayStation 2: Devastator
PlayStation 2: Decoy
PlayStation 2: Word on the Street
PlayStation 2: Such Fun
PlayStation 2: Brothers
PlayStation 2: Babies
PlayStation 2: Cops
PlayStation 2: Grandma
989 Studios: Intimidate
Sony: PS9
Sony: Coolboarders 2
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- Related: “Double Life“
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