New PS3 commercial is... Creepy
54 Comments Published by Sean J on Friday, October 27, 2006 at 9:34 AM.
The commercial is going to confuse most people besides hardcore gamers, so Sony is definitely not going for the masses from the start. If a 9 year old shows their parents the commercial and asks for the PS3, their parents are going to be more disturbed than anything.
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Labels: Playstation 3, Sony
My thoughts exactly. When I first saw the commercial, I thought to myself that if anything people are going to be afraid of the PS3. That poor little baby!
I don't think Sony is doing the right thing by promote their new gaming platform this way. They've been doing tons of wrong moves in the past year, and apparently, it's not going to stop now.
I love the ad but I guess I'm probably one of a few. I have to say it doesn't inspire me to buy one though.
I know it's boring to make a commercial that just lists product specs, but making one that makes no sense is even worse. Their first attempt (the suspense-building, morning journey of a teen) ended in a tragedy of disappointment. It went nowhere and said nothing. Instead of wanting to buy a PS3, this ad reminds me of the Sprite Sublymonal ads you see... lame.
Kinda reminds me of F.E.A.R. but thats probably what it is anyway
It's a subtle reference to the movie 2001 .... and the back monolith....but since I believe the target buyers of PS3 are too young to catch that...this commerical will be a no-op for sales.... I actually like it.....
I think its cool. Rock on little man!
At least he scored a PS3.
Just hold on and give it a moment's thought; the baby represents new life - innocent, fresh, its mind a blank slate. There's potential there, but no guidance. No impetus. No catalyst for greatness.
Enter the PS3. It's mysterious, alien. Patently technologically advanced. We don't see HOW, but it imbues the infant with knowledge, emotion, intellect and power.
Think of the painfully obvious tip-of-the-hat to Kubrick/Clark's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Compare this commercial with that movie's evolutionarily-stalled primates and the effect The Monolith has on them.
And then, finally, consider this; the advert got you TALKING. Whether you like it or not, you were at least motivated enough to share your opinions about it with others. That's what great art strives to achieve.
Is the PS3 great art? I'm not qualified to say. Is the commercial great art? Absolutely.
Finally, Amanda. You DO realise it's not a REAL baby, right??? ;-)
is everyone forgetting the infamous David Lynch commercials for the PS2? Do some research...this is totally Sony's steeze and they are good at it. People that think this is "lame" are simply not getting it...
Its like taking the average joe to see an art house movie...they won't get it either because it is not as blatantly obvious as your normal pop culture flick.
same process is happening here.
Trust me Sony is WAAAAY out front when it comes to revolutionary products that affect mass culture in never imagined ways. This is just more proof of that.
I like creepy.. at least it's not a boring ad. Demonic posession = sales... it reminds me of the "Fast" GTI commercials... though I think the VW ads were better.
Does it make me want a PS3? No.
Still, I like it. It's unique.
I actually like it... very creative.
ok.. i get it. so its a reference to 2001, and?... why the robotic baby thing and whats with the tears and flashing images (in eyes) and crazy demonic laughter... i think its lame. its to far off the mark if you ask me
I get it... it's still lame
I don't get it, but still pretty crappy..You want people to buy your system not point a finger at it sayin "thats that thing with the sutpid commercial" while they walk off with a wii or 360..
for $600 that thing better float...
The commercial isn't supposed to inspire you to buy one, really, it sticks the image into your head, and makes people bring up the subject in conversation due to the weird commercial.
The first thing I thought of when I saw this was a story called "The Black Obelisk"... Of course, only fans of Lovecraft's stories and others of the like would understand.
Liam knows what he/she's talking about!
Just call me stupid but wouldn't a better advert for the PS3 have been to actually just show some screen shots of games that it can play with people having fun using it.
If they wan't to go with the wierd angle i'll give them the next big idea.
The scene opens with an anorexic boy sitting alone at a dinner table. In front of him on a large plate is the PS3. He picks up a knife and fork and starts to consume the console.
The scene fades out. A new scene fades back in and we are now looking at an obese man licking his plate clean, the advert ends.
I think they are doing this for Halloween, but still I don't think this is very appropriate ad. for an already troublesome console. It did give me a chill, though..
OK... yes yes yes, I understand what everyone is saying:
"It's an obvious reference to 2001!"
"Sony is amazing by using artistic commercials!"
"It's getting people talking... isn't that the point?"
No. That is not the point. If this were a NORMAL launch, then yes, I would say that commercial would be a nice move on Sony's part. This is not a normal launch, however, not with all of the problems that Sony has had. They did not need to do something that would get people talking, they've already got that going for them with all of the shortages and issues they are facing. They needed something informative. Something that would grab people's attention and MAKE them realize that, regardless of the problems, the PS3 is the way to go. Did this commercial achieve this goal? You tell me.
Tell me how this makes me want a PS3. Tell me how this informs me that their product is better than the rest. Tell me how this commercial makes me want to drop my walls and become a Sony fanboy. It doesn't, and that is what they needed to do.
Is the PS3 still going to sell well? Duh. However, I strongly feel that this is just another one of the mistakes that Sony has made with this launch.
It's rather trying to mimic the European PS2 "Third Place" campaign about 6 years ago. Unfortunately the US demographic got the dumbed down version for obvious reasons. I'm guessing by now the US would have caught up and should be ready for something a little more clever. This ad is just one of massive campaign... it's more likely to make more sense oance you have a few more pieces of the puzzle.
I think Sony *did* re-hire 'that guy' that worked on the PSP ads, since this absolutely seems like something out of Chris Cunningham's crazy mind:
Chris Cunningham at Director File
I love his work (Rubber Johnny rocks!), and this advertisement is very weird/cool, but it doesn't really work well as an advertisement in general. The King from the Burger King commercials is eerie, sure, but he's pushing burgers like crazy. This PS3 ad doesn't really work to push the PS3 as well as it should.
The King makes people talk, but only as a side effect of his inherent weirdness; the *point* of this commercial is to be weird, and that doesn't push the product as well.
what the hell??
sony's asking for a loss
I love this quote: "Its like taking the average joe to see an art house movie...they won't get it either because it is not as blatantly obvious as your normal pop culture flick. same process is happening here."
Um... The Playstation 3's core demographic is overwhelmingly filled with "average Joes". If this ad goes over their heads, thats a problem. Do you advertise to the GTA/Madden/Tekken crowd with an art house flick most of them won't get?
Maybe you might get the "Saw III" crowd, but that's about it.
This is a Good Ad. Because it has the Viral effect that gets you talking. They are not trying to sell units with this ad. They will be sould out for the first two months so you are not going to talk about how this or how that, That only furstrates the potential Customer. But with Ads like this will keep you entertained till you can get your grubby hand on one. All other types are a wast of revenew, with pre sales covering the first instalments of units and leaving the market hi and dry.
This totally reminds me of Homer's "Mr. Plow" ad.
There's quite a difference between artistic merit and simple pretentiousness.
People comparing Sony's commercial to art don't know what you are talking about.
It's shallow, and it's a parody at best. Stop pretending to be so "enlightened" and learn that Sony does not make Film Noir league commercials. They make shallow shit that people like you view as some deep idea.
Really, Liam's comment made me laugh out loud. Keep critically analyzing TV commercials. I'll stick to real art.
WTF!?!?!?
What the hell what THAT? Very artsy, ooooh. It won't sell any Playstations. Amazing, Sony is about to squander the entire video game market.
"This is a Good Ad. Because it has the Viral effect that gets you talking."
A good viral ad gets you talking about the product, now about how creepy the ad itself is. And a product as mainstream as PS3 doesn't even need viral marketing, just tell ppl it's out and they'll line up to buy it...
Oh, right... that whole sold out preorder thing...
To Liam -
Very good points you bring up, and I agree, however many consumers don't really want to think about the inner meaning of a commercial if it doesnt throw it in their face. I think its a good commercial personally, but most won't be convinced to buy it after only seeing that.
I can see the angle Sony is coming from, but doesn't seem appealing to the masses. I thought they were going to go along the similar routes of their online videos they have on their site which seems to be more explanatory of the specs. See for yourself:
http://www.playb3yond.com/
some of you guys are forgetting the target audience for the PS3 isn't 10 year old kids...it's 18-25 year olds...
looks like a viral commercial, and its done exactly what it was made to do, SPREAD. Its so 'WTF' that people share it with others in amusement, talk about why it was made, speculate speculate...
Good work Sony! now go buy a PS3 because your friend is going to.
i dont get it...
i like boys
worst.commercial.ever!
f-ing awesome. ps3 cometh!
I will tell you what IS scary. How sweet this hotmail address is:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120046944738&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:UK:11
As some people have already said, this advert is reminiscent of how Sony initially promoted the PS2; as a minimalist, arty, mysterious product. If it is meant to inspire heated debate due to its creepiness, then it is a bit of a lacklustre attempt after some of the Xbox adverts. Trying to be arty in this way with adverts just seems very old fashioned but so does PS3's design concept. I suppose that Sony thinks if it isn't broke, don't fix it but, ever since the PS2, there is nothing aesthetically about the Playstation brand or most of its games that makes me want to buy one more than the Xbox 360 or Wii.
This is what you don't get,the doll was rendered by the PS3.Facial emotions,tears,laughter.pretty amazing if you ask me.Combine the cell proscessing power with linux.PS3 is gonna be the shit.
Here's a fan remake of that commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB57ZMUQ4uQ
It's a 'teaser' to gather interest in the product.
I imagine longer, less abstract advertisments/commercials will appear in the next few weeks.
Small is the new big, guys!
http://www.amazon.com/Small-New-Big-Remarkable-Business/dp/1591841267/ref=pd_sxp_f_i/102-8493157-6245726
BRILLIANT COMMERCIAL
love the 2001 references
By far one of my favourite ads ever. This is very subtly showcasing the power of the Cell broadband engine and it's capabilities in addition to being a tribute like many others have said to 2001. Notice at first glance of the PS3 there is no baby doll reflection. Then the PS3 gives it life and when it shows the PS3 again the baby doll's reflection appears in it. The initial expression of the baby doll is an almost perfect depiction of the look an infant gets on it's face when it sees it's mother which is basically saying "this is a baby doll, the PS3 gave it life. The PS3 is the mother." The laughing and crying is just showing that the baby has been given not only life but emotions (tribute to the PS2 "Emotion Engine"), and the images seen in the eyes of the baby are those of SCEA's launch title Resistance:Fall of Man. At the closing the PS3 levitates and the baby mutters "mama" and is then shown reflected once again in the PS3. It is extremely well put together, and not only has it got all the subtle hints at the power and capability of the PS3, but it also is geared towards people who either haven't heard of the PS3 before, or may have but had doubts. If you are one of the people in this category, the ad kind of got under your skin and is embedded in your memory. "This commercial with the creepy baby doll is for the PS3". Even if you are creeped out, you still are talking about it, and have a subconscious curiousity about it now. That is exactly what the ad was supposed to provoke. In my opinion, Sony could probably have gotten away with no advertising campaign for the PS3 and still sell all the PS3's they have available. These ads are only going to make the demand greater and ensure that they win the seventh generation console war.
-- And to those saying it isn't worth $600, you are mistaken. It is not just a video game console. Look at the facts here. The console includes a Blu-ray disc player first of all. In case you weren't aware, the cheapest Blu-ray disc player on the market is $750 and the most expensive is $1,500. The inclusion of the Blu-ray disc player in the PS3 pays for itself. In addition there is a 60GB hard drive (as long as we are talking about the $600 version). 60GB hard drives will run you about $50 nowadays. It will support broadband networking/internet connectivity, bluetooth, USB, Wi-Fi, SD, and CompactFlash. Take all of this and add on the ability the PS3 has of playing any Playstation, Playstation 2, or Playstation 3 game, CD-ROM, CD-DA, CD-R, CD-RW, DualDisc, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, and DVD+RW and that you can browse the internet with a built-in browser and you have a total package worth over $1000. You're telling me that $600 is not a fair price when it boasts over a grand in capabilities? I beg to differ. Think of it this way if you must. Say you thought PS3 was too expensive and went and bought an XBox 360 core system. First off, you have no HD disc capability. You have already spent $300 and need to spend an additional $200 to get the XBox 360 HD-DVD player. Even at that point you are still at a loss since Blu-ray has been proven to be better all-round than HD-DVD. Next, the core XBox 360 has no hard drive! More money to spend! And what's this? You have to buy a remote control to play DVDs?!? And I have to buy a wireless controller since the core system only comes with a regular one? I think I have justified myself. The PS3 is far superior as not only a game console but a centrepiece for your entertainment system. If you already have a television and speakers, the PS3 alone can take care of everything else. It can be your internet browser, movie player, music player, and game console. Use your head people...
Oh wow, that commercial sure has caused quite a small ruckus. All this talk of age specific audiences and what not, and whether they are going for the average joe or hardcore gamer. Well I am a 20 year old gamer. And I will tell you, Sony sucks. Bad. Real Bad. Anyone who loves Sony and is influenced to buy a PS3 from this commercial is just another stupid pawn of Sony. Go spoiled child and let your parents blow $600 on you. I will leave it at that.
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