Early in the PlayStation 3′s life on store shelves, Sony decided the best way to market the $US499-and-up machine was through crying baby dolls and sterile white rooms, ads that shockingly came off as “arrogant”. Thank goodness we’re past that.
PlayStation Senior VP Peter Dille says that “whole positioning was a bit intimidating to people,” according to a report from IGN. “Our research also showed that Sony could be perceived as arrogant,” he adds, noting that the new Kevin Butler-starring ads featuring the fake exec are working. I’d say he’s right, considering that numerous PlayStation devotees are lobbying for Butler to present during the company’s E3 showing.
“The arrogance I think has gone away,” Dille said at last week’s MI6 marketing conference. “We kind of gotten back to our mojo with the sense of humor that people came to know and love with early PlayStation advertising.”
weresmurf
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 1:05 PMGotta admit the sony ads have been better. The old ads were always pretentious. The new ones have come off far better. Maybe next generation of consoles they’ll stick with this idea of marketing instead of relapsing to ‘douchebag advertising’.
Phoenix
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 1:17 PM‘ “The arrogance I think has gone away,” Dille said at last week’s MI6 marketing conference.
Am I the only one that finds that self-evidently contradictory? It’s okay to believe you’re not arrogant, but saying it upfront is in itself pretty arrogant.
Braaains
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 1:37 PMYes. You are the only one who finds that self-evidently contradictory.
Andrew
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 2:17 PMArrogant isn’t the word I would use to describe the first ads for the PS3, incredibly stupid and missing the point entirely is more correct. What the hell does turning eggs into crows, solving Rubik’s cubes and crying dolls have to do with anything? In the midst of showing off just how much horsepower the PS3 had, they forgot to tell people that it may actually be fun to play. While the new ads are miles ahead of the old ones in terms of actually getting people excited about a product I think going after your competitors so blatantly like that is a little childish.
But still, anything is better than that weird goth fixation they had with early PS3 and PSP ads.
LowBrow
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 2:27 PMIs the logo on the door a chart of Sony’s stock price?
Note: Massive drop post PS3 release?
Dutch
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 3:01 PMIsn’t “It only does everything,” an inherently arrogant statement?
Must just be me then.
Mr Waffle
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 4:21 PM“Our research also showed that Sony could be perceived as arrogant”
hahaha. ‘could be’. Understatement of the generation, methinks.
DogMan
Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 4:33 PMWhen did Sony have a sense of humour in their advertising? I can’t say I remember the original PlayStation ads very well, but I seem to remember them always coming off as that really toolish try-hard extreme type of cool.
Andy
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 6:56 AMGod I love those ads, and it took them months to get a proper youtube channel with them all on there. Their marketting department is a bit old school and a bit slow on the uptake.