Sony's didn't become the world leader in videogames by accident. Through cutting-edge games, world-class exclusives and a marketing campaign that wasn't afraid of taking risks, Sony positioned the Playstation as THE system to own. It became cooler to game as an adult, and kids everywhere wanted one. They sold the idea it was cool to own a Playstation.
Early on in the Playstation's life Sony realized that it was just as important to sell the lifestyle of the Playstation as it was to sell the games. Since then Sony has made a habit of making commercials that have little to do with videogames, and more to do with the lifestyle they want associated with their Playstation brand.
Most of these spots featured here don't really advertise a particular game, or even a system. Rather, they focus on the lifestyle that want to project that comes with owning a playstation. Most of these commercials don't even contain any game titles or footage.
Here are the links to my other advertising features:
(These are not shown in any kind of chronological order.)
Not long after the PS2 came out, Sony began airing this commercial. What really amounted to a spot for the PS9, it talks about the systems "features" and then positions the PS2 as the precursor
What's strange here is that not only does the commercial show NO gameplay graphics, it doesn't even show the actual product until the very end.
This, is without a doubt the strangest commercial you'll see here. I've watched this spot a few times now, and I have no idea what they're trying to sell here. That being said, I love this commercial
I had read before this spot was pulled off the air, I'm guessing because of the porn stars. Such a strange combination of the golfers and porn stars, but on some weird level, it works.
The following I believe is a British spot portraying an entire city playing "King of the Hill." The music is from Shirley Temple
As Sony slowly moved into the online gaming world, their branding commercials began selling the worldwide competition.
After the PSP launched, Sony just plain lost their minds with this series of commercials. What amounts to 2 squirrels yelling at each other, along with pencil-shaded animation.
Why does the voice-over guy want to fuck his PSP? "I'd hit that" is a way of pointing out someone you'd like to have sex with, so for the life of me I can't figure out what the hell the squirrels and V.O. guy are talking about.
Here's a commercial from the other side of the pond. Directed by Chris Cunningham (most famous for the f'd up Aphex Twin videos), it's called "Mental Wealth"
Why does the girl look like a human/alien hybrid? In my eyes for no reason other than to be weird and outside the mainstream.
"Live In Your World. Play In Ours." became Sony's calling card and long-running slogan in the states. It sold the idea that you can have two separate lives. One where you pay your bills, go to work, go food shopping, etc., and one where you have all your fun. Overseas they called it "Do Not Underestimate the Power of Playstation", but the intent was the same. Your life is boring, escape into ours.
My favorite commercial here. I love the idea of all different ages and types of people plugging in at night and commanding armies, conquering worlds, and generally running amock.
At least I know I'm not alone. They could never get away with a spot like this here in the states. We still can't get people to believe that adults play games.
I'm trying to track down older playstation spots, stuff from the PS1 days. If you can help,
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Comments (5)
... written by dan banner,
June 09, 2006
I loved the spots. The first and the last are the best. db
+0
... written by The Scatman,
June 18, 2006
little or no gameplay footage in any... Sony's sucsess was never based on being an innovative gaming company... pumping money into third party support and even more into advertising is something any one with a big enough wallet can do.
+0
... written by Markusdragon,
June 18, 2006
The second one is blatantly stolen from a 'Big Train' sketch.
Loved the last one, tho it is a bit odd to be bragging about living via playing games. My favorite was always "I Am the Wolfman," falsely rumored to be by David Lynch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUD6VTR2RQM
+0
... written by bits & bytes & pixels ,
July 06, 2006
[...] Here’s some links to my previous advertising articles: Part 1: Genesis does what Nintendon’t - Ads from the late 80’sPart 2: Sony sells Playstation lifestyle - Strange Sony adsPart 3: Ads in the Land of the Rising Sun - Bizarre Japanese AdsPart 4: Japan Strikes Back! - Bizarre Japanese Ads 2nd Edition [...]
Editor-in-Chief - Jim Squires Managing Editor - Daniel Lloyd Founding Editor - Daniel Zuccarelli
Contributors Bryan Wall Holly Green Lance Coviello Marc Deangelis Mark Peachey Mike Dodd
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Sony's didn't become the world leader in videogames by accident. Through cutting-edge games, world-class exclusives and a marketing campaign that wasn't afraid of taking risks, Sony positioned the Playstation as THE system to own. It became cooler to game as an adult, and kids everywhere wanted one. They sold the idea it was cool to own a Playstation.
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 
The first and the last are the best.
db