Our Double Life article inspired our talented friend form FanHunter.com who used our screenshots of the ad and converted them into a cartoon style art.

The original site is in Spanish so a great deal of our visitors won’t know what’s going on.

More explanations in english coming soon.

This is how the artwork was done.

Final piece.

Do you know someone who deserves a nice present?

Get Sony PlayStation 2

back to the original article

Source: http://www.fanhunter.com/noticias/noti21.php

The post Commercial inspires Artistic – by Fan Hunter appeared first on Electronic Music.

“…missed heartbeats and adrenalin…”

“You may not think it, to look of me…”

“I’ve exhibited disregard for life.”

I have commanded armies…”

“…and conquered worlds.”

“I have no regrets..”

“…at least I can say – I’ve lived.”

“For years, I’ve lived a double life. In the day, I do my job – I ride the bus, roll up my sleeves with the hoi-polloi…”
Our TV advertisement story continues with the review of “Double Life” ad by PlayStation.
This time we’ll be reflecting on the use of escapism in the commercial advertising and compare how similar or different this method is in relation to standard advertising practices.

Let’s compare the two ads, Mountain and Double Life. The first thing that comes to one mind is – people. It’s all about people. This time however the focus is not leaning towards the communal excitement, which seems to be the trend of 2002/2003.

The director of this TV commercial is taking us through the snapshots of lives led by many different individuals. This collage of picturesque lifestyles features those into whose lives we peek as they confess. In front of the camera – in front of us – these people are being honest about the things they do outside their regular lives. They’re even explaining how it might not be believable at first, but they have done things.. things which in reality might seem rather inconceivable. We are all different, and we all have our own way of living. Often that lifestyle can become repetitive and dull.

That’s when we start to dream and wish for something to happen. Something that will take us far above our daily problems and routines. A challenge, an experience, something that every human being has in their genes. The fack is – some people get to experience life in full, and some do not. Of course not everyone has experienced the terror of war, not everyone has driven their car at 200Km p/h through the street packed with police.

So one, being a curious human being, must wonder – What would I do in that situation? – How do we escape our physical disability? How do we escape our regular lives? How can we discover who we really are without experiencing life in full?

Let’s face the fact – how many of us will slay a dragon in next few days? Without being too funny, I’ll just say – none. And this is where virtual reality comes in place. Combining the modern technology with our imagination we can discover that hidden part of ourselves.

We can’t lie and say this whole digital experience is perfect – but it certainly is as close as one will ever get to fully challenging his or her own skills… safely. There is no need to act in reality as reality can often be dangerous and some things physically impossible.

So we lead a double life. During the day we work, study and do average human things. But at night we transform and do things which are outside of the reach of normal life. And we do it to get to know ourselves a bit better, we do it to release our frustration and daily pressure build-up.

This ad combines some pretty strong words with highly polished imagery. If you analyze the video by playing it slowly and pausing at scene changes, you will notice the true artistic value of this commercial.

In tradition of PlayStation ads, and at no surprise, a lot of though has gone into every second of this short film. All scenes are well done and they look like an album of carefully taken photographs. Yet the commercial runs for only 60 seconds..

I believe every good ad has a pinnacle, and the most striking moment in this commercial is a swap between the woman in an underpass and the little girl boy with the hood.

“I have commanded armies, and conquered worlds.”

That part still gives me the goose bumps. By far the most powerful TV ad moment I have seen in a very long time. The whole ‘moment’ just screams with the emotion and potential.

Look at the woman in the underpass – look at her – there is a mighty and powerful leader nested in her. She is strong and she has commanded armies!

And the little girl. An absolute contrast of power. How could this little creature conquer worlds? Now we start to wonder about the limit of human mind, and the difference between the child’s and adult’s judgment and intelligence.

“…and conquered worlds.”

Her facial expression and the way those words are spoken is simply perfect.

I cannot escape the feeling that this scene had some influence by “Dune” one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all times. A similar figure appears in the movie – a little girl all serious and powerful holding a ‘gom jabar’.

I highly encourage you to rent this movie on tape or DVD if you haven’t seen it before.

In conclusion, this effective ad ends with a strong message. We admit, we’ve been violent, and have done things that are not allowed by human laws or laws of nature. We have led a double life, but at least we got to know ourselves and experience the life in full. There are no regrets because…

We’ve lived.

Video: Double Life (QuickTime)

***

FURTHER ANALYSIS

ESCAPISM

Escapism is the main driving element in this short film and has been skillfully embedded into the theme without being overly explicit – yet explicit enough to get the message across. It’s interesting to see advertisers focus on pragmatics, effects and outcomes of utilizing the advertised product rather than appraisal of the product itself.

OLD TRICKS

We all remember those corny tourism ads with people day-dreaming about beaches, coconuts, pretty girls/boys and exotic fruit. This type of marketing is still present, often in a comical sense as it still affects a great deal of population. Some ads however take old, worn-out methods and spice them up with digital video and 3D effects.

WHAT STILL WORKS?

Let’s not forget. There ARE some things that will never fail to sell, such as sex and the element of greed. TV ads are as likely to succeed if they are funny and entertaining. Revamping the old tricks might save some time in the conceptual stage, however, the most effective ads must demonstrate something fresh, innovative and intriguing.

CONCLUSION

Double Life is a well crafted ad which combines contrasting, and almost absurd concepts with the human emotion and the need to experience the life in full. Everything in this ad, including the story line, colors, photography, music and acting has been highly perfected and mixed in a wonderful blend of vibrant and effective imagery.

Finally, an ad that carries the message as strong as human desire to explore, change and feel freedom.

Well done Frank!

Comments:

Chris Muir– I was just surfing and came across the write up you’ve done on the Double Life PlayStation ad (shot by Frank Budgen). I’m a huge fan of the ad and love the line “and conquered worlds.” Like you say it gives you goose bumps. I’m just writing to let you know that this superb line is uttered by a little boy, not a little girl. He’s from a place called Fife in Scotland, which is near Edinburgh (where I live). He became quite famous (in Scotland, I assume) when the ad was running on TV and in the cinema. Just thought I’d let you know. I’m having a look at the rest of your site. It’s been a while since I’ve dusted my drum and bass records off, but that’s what I’m now off to do. If you’re looking for a chilled moment, check out a tune called Utuba by Beaumont Hannant. It’s not one for when you’re wanting to own the floor, but for after the club, it’s a sweet tune.

EXTRA: Art inspires art

This article inspired our talented friend form FanHunter.com who took our screenshots of the ad and converted into a cartoon style art. Check it out:

Source: http://www.fanhunter.com/noticias/noti21.php

View the full cartoon here

QUICK FACTS:

• AWARDS: Frank Budgen the director of “Double Life” Sony Playstation ad in 1999.
• Sony Pro Media Commercial Award.
• Downfalls: I didn’t find the scene with a pregnant woman quite appropriate as I felt sorry for the little kid crying. He obviously wasn’t too happy about being but naked and filmed for TV 😉
• Feedback: If you have an opinion about this subject or article, please leave your comments at the forum
• Related: Sony Playstation ad review: The Mountain
• Read more articles

Do you know someone who deserves a nice present?

Get

Sony PlayStation 2

Double Life ad: Image Gallery			Double Life – Lyrics

For years, I’ve lived a double life.

In the day, I do my job – I ride the bus, roll up

my sleeves with the hoi-polloi.

But at night, I live a life of exhilaration, of missed

heartbeats and adrenalin.

And, if the truth be known,

a life of dubious virtue.

I won’t deny it – I’ve been engaged in violence, even

indulged in it.

I’ve maimed and killed adversaries, and not merely

in self-defence.

I’ve exhibited disregard for life, limb and property,

and savoured every moment.

You may not think it,

to look of me, but I have commanded armies, and conquered

worlds.

And though in achieving these things I’ve set morality

aside,

I have no regrets.

For though I’ve led a double life, at least I can say

– I’ve lived.

The post SONY PlayStation 2 Commercial – Double Life appeared first on Electronic Music.

PS3 – Compare PS3 prices from top stores in Australia

“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.

Continued   on 2nd December 2003 Word of the author: To be honest, I didn’t expect such an overwhelming response to what I’ve written about the Mountain ad. We’ve had around 1500 people on the ad review page already, and all the feedback we have received was positive. It’s unbelievable how PlayStation advertisement got everyone involved. So involved, that they are not just noticing the ad, but are also actively searching the Internet for more. The Internet, Multimedia and TV advertising / product marketing have never been more important, and it looks like many big boys are loosing the battle for the market. DOWNLOADS: Download Soundtrack: Shirley Temple – Get on Board Lil’ Children (right click – save as…) Do you know someone who deserves a nice present? Get Sony PlayStation 2

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

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

mp3

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

• If you have an opinion about this subject or article, pleaseleave your comments at the forum
  

• Read more articles
• Related: “Double Life“

What others say about it:

• GameCom (Dutch)

The post SONY PlayStation 2 Commercial – Fun Anyone? appeared first on Electronic Music.