Sony (and its ad agency) need a home run with the PS3
Echoing the concerns of other investors, Fortune Magazine examines the much needed PS3 home run for Sony if the company wishes to stay competitive in the consumer electronics world. The piece calls the PS3 launch "one of the most closely watched new-product rollouts of all time." Given its recent PR beats, portable music spanking at the hand of Apple, and mass battery recalls, Sony is hoping its ad agency, TBWA, can in part save the company. That's a tall order for the Los Angeles-based firm with its $150 million Sony account.More interesting, however, is what TBWA (which has done all US ads since the first PlayStation in 1995) has to accomplish: Not only do their ads need to encourage prospective gamers to buy Sony's third-generation console, the ads must convince said consumers to wait for the PS3 due to extremely limited launch availability.
From the article: "The agency's job is to persuade those who leave the store empty-handed to wait - to not buy Xbox or Wii - even if it means holding off until after Christmas before Sony can ramp up its manufacturing enough to satisfy the demand. So the bar is high indeed. If the Los Angeles office doesn't clear it with the PS3 launch, Sony may not be the only client that heads for the exit."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dave @ Oct 31st 2006 1:02PM
WELL I HOPE MS STOP THEM CAUSE SONY SUCK Wii360 ALL THE WAY
Kevin @ Oct 31st 2006 1:03PM
Whatever they do, don't make anymore ads with a baby crying.
Denney @ Oct 31st 2006 1:03PM
Yep i dont think they will get the home run they are after.
frank @ Oct 31st 2006 1:06PM
I dont give a dam about Sony after what they did to lik-sang all i can say is F##K YOU SONY!! I HOPE YOU FAIL AND STRIKE OUT
Martin @ Oct 31st 2006 1:06PM
Well, then Sony officially has failed, as their ads really aren't going to do anything...
Spilt_Milk @ Oct 31st 2006 1:06PM
If they had 60 million units on launch day they would sell every one and they would be a success. What they are offering is going to turn a sure thing into a disaster.
They should have waited until they had the supply to meet the demand.
Sony is DOOOMED.
Agent MOO @ Oct 31st 2006 1:08PM
I don't think they need to worry too much, they already have a fanbase that is convinced that PS3 is synonymous with superiority. They just need to work off that.
Current ads so far have sucked ass, bad flower and baby metaphors are no way to sell game consoles. You want to show similar themes to games, kung fu, guns and robots.
Jerm @ Oct 31st 2006 1:14PM
Yeah, I agree with Agent. Sony's strength is in their fanbase. People already believe that the PS3 is the Second Coming, they need to stop with the viral marketing and just say "We're the market leader, you know you want one".
mark @ Oct 31st 2006 1:16PM
Sony you suck stop making games and get out of the console business you and EA you both suck balls
Jarrett @ Oct 31st 2006 1:18PM
@ Agent Moo
You might want to correct that "synonymous with superiority" statement. Case in point. Go to chron.com, Houston Chronicle newspaper, and look up the articlel about the Japanese as whole taking a step back in quality. Read it. It points out several instances in which Japanese products do not hold the superiority it once did. It gives examples from electronics to cars, and yes Sony is on that list.
This is the thing that gets me with Sony rabid fans. They do not make a superior product as once thought. They just don't. It has been proven and the numbers reflect this. This hype that Sony (Japanese products are superior) is becoming more and more a myth. It's just the media is so afraid to call them out on it because they don't want to mess with their sponsorship dollars or advertising budgets.
This is not directed at you Agent Moo ... but call a spade a spade and own up to the fact that in the past 5 years the Japanese have put out a so so product. I'm not in anyway saying American made products are the end all of be all....but if you are going to diss American made products....hold the Japanese to the same standards.....
SquirrelPhister @ Oct 31st 2006 1:24PM
@ frank, Denney, Dave and mark
dude, why are you pretending to be several people?
maximus @ Oct 31st 2006 1:27PM
All they need to do is stop with the viral crap and show some games, that's it. Show ads in movie theatres and on TV with some actual gameplay, throw in footage of the web browser and blu ray movies. Not that difficult really, though sure they'll try some silly subliminal adverts instead of showing people what they really want to see.
Agent MOO @ Oct 31st 2006 1:28PM
Jarrett, what I'm saying is their fanbase believes that, by no means is it true. All they need to do is cash in on that and they will get themselves a good number of consoles sold.
Raynre @ Oct 31st 2006 1:29PM
Dude... mark, frank, Dave...
Shut up.
Anon - I - mousse @ Oct 31st 2006 1:30PM
@4 I would encourage you and everyone who wants a clearer light shed at the SONY vs. Lik-Sang matter to read this for the sake of establishing a well informed and impartial opinion:
http://www.netjak.com/review.php/1238
I am not defending Sony either but we must remain objective, it is for you to decide which way to go.
Peace out V_o
skr1lls @ Oct 31st 2006 1:31PM
I use to work for TBWA / Chiat Day LA.. i'm somewhere else now, but still live out my Art Director life.
Funny thing most of you probably don't know is that TBWA created, developed, and then sold that famous campaign for the Ipod to Apple. Apple is one of their main clients. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.. especially as apple, ipod, sony, psp are inevitably becoming closer. A conflict of interest if you will.
I would love to see TBWA lose playstation. They've gotten real lazy over the past 4 years with their PS2 and PSP and work... and there are hungrier, more creative places (like the place i'm out now) that could do much better work... especially for all that PS3 garbage currently confusing people.
Zack @ Oct 31st 2006 1:32PM
I never get why they don't just start making the system earlier, I mean the holiday season is always at the exact same time every year. Get your act together and you will sell every unit you can crank out, which is what i belive wii will do.
Jarrett @ Oct 31st 2006 1:38PM
@ Agent Moo-
I could agree with that. But I plan on getting a PS3 at some point. But I am really really going to watch for the problems that might arise. I mean this thing is getting rushed as it is. Setbacks continue. Blu-Ray is an unproven medium.... I mean there are so many questions with the PS3 that anyone spending that kind of money on this thing should be somewhat hesitant and due their due diligence and not rush into it. I mean Sony fan is so rabid that if there was a problem with their PS3 ... would they be willing to admit that it had a problem and vent their frustration??? I'm guessing not because they are so brainwashed....
but I hear what you are saying....
baby sea tuna @ Oct 31st 2006 1:40PM
If they're not planning on showing actual PS3 game footage in their adds (which is probably a smart move considering how last-gen that Warhawk footage looked in that flower commercial,) they should seriously consider going along the lines of the more filmic 360 commercials like the Cops and Robbers spot or that awesome French New-Wave wireless headset ad.
I guess the real question remains, where the hell are all the Wii ads? The thing comes out in like 3 weeks and I haven't seen a one...
SquirrelPhister @ Oct 31st 2006 1:41PM
12. maximus:
"All they need to do is stop with the viral crap and show some games, that's it. Show ads in movie theatres and on TV with some actual gameplay, throw in footage of the web browser and blu ray movies. Not that difficult really, though sure they'll try some silly subliminal adverts instead of showing people what they really want to see."
agreed. they keep going on and on telling us how amazing the graphics will be, how it will blow away everything that has come before, but they go out of their way to avoid showing games in motion for any extended period of time. i guess they're not worried about moving the dozen or so PS3s that will actually make it into stores.
Sam @ Oct 31st 2006 1:43PM
I think Sony should save their money. Those people who have had their heart set on a PS3 will go buy one; those who either a) hate Sony for varying reasons, such as "my notebook exploded," "they shut down Lik-Sang," or "Crash Bandicoot" or b) had their heart set on a Wii or 360, will not buy one.
There's been so much hype about these systems that at this point I doubt there's that much of an undecided column, and that should worry Sony, because its those undecided folks that they need to sneak Blu-Ray drives into everyone's house.
HAPPYDAD @ Oct 31st 2006 1:43PM
All the ads in the world couldn't help the PS3 now. With the 20,000 console cut in Japan (that will probably happen in the US too), advertising at this point will only make matters worse. November 17th is right around the corner and I don't see how Sony is going to be able to have at least a decent launch. I think it's entirely possible that they even delay the PS3's launch. It would spell disaster, but if they do some sort of half-launch they lose anyway. Their backs are against the wall on this one.
Jarrett @ Oct 31st 2006 1:44PM
@ baby sea tuna-
Good point! I noticed the one PS3 add but no Wii. This time last year we had the kids playing with Waterballons and the slogan "Jump In" was everywhere. no one can tell me this time last October 360 ads were everywhere....I would have the marketing and advertising to Microsoft at this point because even my girlfriend who hates video games thought the kids and then the whole town having a waterballon fight looked like fun....
ill trooper @ Oct 31st 2006 1:49PM
Whatever. More Blog Drama, More Often. Microsoft muddled their launch as well - it's a year later, and everyone bashing the PS3 only remembers it as the 'wonderful 360 launch,' forgetting months of waiting for the next shipments or even new games, that G.R.A.W, Oblivion, and a few other games missed launch, and developers like Ubi held games like Splinter Cell almost a year because they were waiting for a 'larger installed 360 base...' But it still turned out to be OK - the 360 is a great system.
I'm not downplaying the importance of the PS3's success, I'm simply saying it's easy to get wound up in these daily hype-posts about failure and success. Sony is in it for the long run, they know it far better than some kid on a blog's comments section, and everything they do is calculated as such. If you look at what they want to offer on a hypothetical level, with eyes NOT of a hater, like many here do with the 360 and the Wii, the PS3 is a pretty cool box - HD gaming, online integration, hard drive, wireless, HD drive for movies, etc on blueray, this powerful new Cell processor... It's a box they want us buying for the next 6-7 years like we have with the PS2. It's a good next level.
But let's get down to the reality - blue-ray diodes, higher cost, slow ebbing away of exclusives... It seems so dramatic right now, but It's all correctable, just as hiccups been corrected with the 360. Sony will correct the technical issues and move forward - they always have. It's not news to them or their shareholders that things need to change - read the excellent Wired magazine article on it. SONY knows they need this to work.
The PS3 is a device people want, even if a group of 40-50 haters constantly come on this blog and predict doom or claim they're only buying one to 'sell on ebay.'
Frosty22 @ Oct 31st 2006 1:50PM
Nintendo is smart... they know they don't need to advertise-the retail stores are doing plenty of it through mailouts and the like.
I have said it before... Parents are going to go to the stores looking for a ps3 that is on their kids wishlist. They won't find any ps3s... and the sales people will be told to push the products they have. They WON'T tell these parents to wait 3-6 months to get a ps3... they will say "the xbox360 is basically the same thing... and we have plenty in stock. Why don't you pick one of those up instead." and boom... a lost customer for sony. (could be Wii instead of xbox 360)
Steven @ Oct 31st 2006 1:56PM
Y'all are kiddin' yourselves! Sony will sell out of PS3's for a long while. Why do you think there are so many 360s sitting on store shelves now? Yes, Sony needs a new ad agency for sure, but Lik-Sang had it coming before Sony. BTW, how many Wiis are going to be available by the end of the year? I haven't heard anything about it. It's been all Sony news.
Kevin @ Oct 31st 2006 1:59PM
@ #26
Of course they're going to sell out of PS3s, there aren't that many to sell out and everyone is buying one to sell on eBay anyway :P
I kid, I kid.. :P
crono141 @ Oct 31st 2006 2:00PM
"BTW, how many Wiis are going to be available by the end of the year?"
Between 4 and 6 million, with 9 to 11 million by March '07
Regula Oblique @ Oct 31st 2006 2:02PM
Anybody saying that Sony will fail and wont sale enough consoles, is Stupid plain and simple. Do you actually think that most people know about all the bad rep sony has recieved. Most people dont even know what a blog is, and they will by a PS3, no matter how much it cost. So you cant even say its too much people have money and when thier kids want a playstation around the holidays they usaully get it. Dont try to tell me otherwise either because I have seen it first hand on more than one occasion, so just because your a xbox fan or nintendo fan or just dont like sony. you just better sit back and get used to sony dominating the game industry for a 3rd time, they already did it for a decade and its going up BABY!!!!!!!!!!!
Flit @ Oct 31st 2006 2:03PM
Reasons I want Sony to Fail:
1 - Anti-competitive nature: (suing lik-sang until they fold from costs. if the import community is this large, make it your own, or allow people their options)
2 - Proprietary formats: i'm lookin your way Mini-disc, Betamax, and Blu-ray. I don't care if HD DVD or Blu-ray wins, I only wanted one format, I don't care which one, just pick one.
3 - Shoddy Craftsmanship: Batteries, anyone? Scrapped ps2's because their disc drives don't read discs anymore? (I have two at my house alone). I used to work at a used game store, and 1/3 of all ps2's that people tried to trade in didn't read blue-bottom discs and/or dvd movies. Minor problem.
4 - Lies: 2 HDMI ports for dual outputs, 100,000 units in japan, "Killzone isn't CGI, it's Realtime", online play being completely "free" (I can feel this one will be proven in time to be false, if not, i'll be surprised)
Need I say more?
JUJUSTSHUTUP @ Oct 31st 2006 2:03PM
FUCK YOU DAVE.
FUCK YOU FRANK.
FUCK YOU MARK.
FOR BEING SO USELESS TO SOCIETY.
Franky Digital @ Oct 31st 2006 2:03PM
@ Illtrooper: You're missing one important point. Microsoft didn't have to compete with not one but two other "next-gen" competitors at the time. Their kinks let them pass by relatively unscathed because no one was there to capitalize on the muckaboutery.
Sony, and Nintendo as well, are not nearly as lucky. Now they have to compete with each other, and a console with a year's worth of dev-time, support, etc. There's a huge difference there.
pixelator @ Oct 31st 2006 2:07PM
History repeats itself.
At the launch of the PS2, almost the exact same hate of Sony, crying about overpricing, initial unit shortages, etc... And many predicted that the cheaper Gamecube would win out. PS2 lacked killer launch titles, cost more, was harder to get and Sony was arrogant, had goofy ads, made grand claims about their potential for success and basically pissed off every single Nintendo fan on the planet.
When the much anticipated Gamecube launched, its high initial sales moved many an internet pundit to pronounce the PS2 and Sony DOOMED.
The rest was history, which is being revisited much the same way here in 2006. Only now, the media (with so many blogs in the mix) has become even more sensationalistic, opinionated and more prone to theory & conjecture. With internet sites like Joystiq passing off undisguised resentment for Sony mixed with an obvious preference for Nintendo as 'news', we've reached a new era in colored 'journalism' that creates a rather colored perspective of what to expect.
I've been working in this industry in one form or another since around 1988 as an artist and designer. Before that, an avid gamer dating back to the days when you could buy an Atari 2600 at Safeway for $200. I've seen a lot of stuff happen in the last 18 years, and I'll tell you right now that the PS3 will very likely, after the initial shortages and brouhaha, proceed to climb to the top of this generation.
Why not the Wii? While certainly interesting and laudable for its pricing and daring, the lack of HD will continue to grow in significance and the quirky controllers are clearly not going to work well with all genres of games. The PS3 is, after all the negative press, still seen by most as the 'pinnacle' of the three. The 360 definitely has a lot going for it, but the PS3 will have the strong Japanese developer support that, coupled with strong USA/EUR games, will create that varied and undeniably great library that the PS1 and PS2 enjoyed. The Wii will, as the GC and N64 did before it, continue to appeal mostly to existing Nintendo fans and kids who enjoy the familiar style and mostly first-party games. I sat in line for my Wii preorder and without going into detail, let's just say about 90% of those guys (and a few gals) waiting with me fit snugly into a certain type. As do I.
I do think Nintendo can topple the 360 in the USA despite the latter's more robust and evolving feature set, but it remains to be seen. That, to me, will be the most interesting contest and why I'm more looking forward to owning all the current systems (including the handhelds) than ever before. Hell, I don't even have enough time to play my DS and PSP games right now, let alone my 360.
Sorry, I'll leave the podium now for the next foaming mouth fanboy to take the mic. I forgot what this and so many other blogs are really 'all about' anymore.
epluribus @ Oct 31st 2006 2:11PM
Go Blake go!
Spin Blake spin!
I see: it's up to the ad agency to "convince" people to buy the PS3. It's not the games, the technology, the many other media features, the free online play, the new controller technology, etc., etc., etc. No educated consumer could actually CHOOSE the PS3 on their own.
Thanks for putting things in a fair, objective perspective for us, as always.
32_Footsteps @ Oct 31st 2006 2:17PM
Hey, Anon, thanks for the referral. Glad to see someone liked that piece.
Here's the big question, though - can Sony get enough units out there in time so that they can get enough game buyers (since again, the games are where the profits lie, not the consoles themselves) to get the home run? Given the mounting losses and the cutbacks in production of the console, I'm starting to wonder if the PR agency is just the band playing on.
epluribus @ Oct 31st 2006 2:22PM
LOL @ #30. Do you even see the irony in your little list? Substitute "Microsoft" for "Sony", and let's see how many examples we can come up with for 1 thru 4, shall we?
fawazr @ Oct 31st 2006 2:23PM
I can't, for the life of me, figure out why Sony allowed things to get so out of hand. The recall and lawsuit were definitely unexpected, but it shouldn't have thrown their launch so out of whack. Let's not forget that the PS3 was supposed to come out earlier this year.
I know that people like to say that Sony was lying about a Spring 2006 launch, but that would be even more confusing. Why lie so blatantly when you know you'll be relying on strong investor support?
Sony desperately needs new leadership to keep investors from unnecessarily losing a lot of hard earned money. Ads just aren't enough to make up for bad decision making. And this sort of pressure can't be helpful to the creative teams behind the PS3 ad campaign: make a killer ad that sells a product that no one can buy this shopping season. I don't envy them at all.
markdavefrank @ Oct 31st 2006 2:23PM
CAUSE WE HATE SONY
Frosty22 @ Oct 31st 2006 2:29PM
@ 29
You are missing the point! Sony has a HUGE backing... but they don't have enough units to sell to that backing during the Holidays!!! It is the Holidays when people are going to be buying new hdtvs and new gaming consoles! It is the kids that are going to want the PS3, and the parents are oblivious to the differences between the consoles. Sales people at these stores will steer those parents towards the Wii or the 360 because there won't be any PS3's to sell because Sony dropped the ball.
BestBuy/CircuitCity/Target/Walmart/EBGames/GameStop all want to have a phenomenal holiday and all want their sales to be high. They don't care how they get their money, they will sell whatever they have in stock. YOU CAN'T PUSH A PRODUCT THAT YOU DON'T HAVE!!!
ymmv @ Oct 31st 2006 2:29PM
@pixelator,
You're wrong about the Gamecube's high initial sales. Each and every month the PS2 (and the Xbox too) outsold the Gamecube. There were many months when Sony sold five times more consoles as Nintendo.
Nintendo's Gamecube was never deemed a big commercial success.
Edge of Blade @ Oct 31st 2006 2:36PM
What I find amazing is that Sony flaunted conventional wisdom about risk. I thought Sony was a company...with business people...with an education...and intelligence. Instead, they go all in on Blu-ray. All in on a 50/50 format war.
Let think of this in terms of poker. Sony has bluffed before, and the world bought it. They go all in AGAIN...with worse odds I might add. Of course everyone is going to call their bluff. They are like that annoying kid in online poker who goes all in on every hand. They might hit a few homeruns, but eventuallly...someone will deep pockets will call them and put them out of business.
Unfortunately, Sony fanboys also act like that annoying kid who always goes all in.
Frosty22 @ Oct 31st 2006 2:37PM
And by the way... Microsoft dropped the proverbial ball last holiday too with their shipments, but the difference is they were given a freebie because their competition was not out yet.
Flit @ Oct 31st 2006 2:37PM
@36:
Point taken. I never said Microsoft was any better. Way to point out how Sony is just as bad as the evil microsoft. That's why I don't own a 360 either.
Don't point your finger at something that isn't there, you'll only point it at yourself.
I hate the fact that Halo was stolen for the first xbox, i hate the fact the 360 doesn't have a required HDD, I hate the fact that MS couldn't agree on a single format either.
I just wish you fanboys would stop saying that Sony is so innocent.
Sony is just the target of my ire right now because the PS3 is coming out and if people actually support this thing, we're just bending over and saying "no thanks, petroleum jelly won't be necessary" Pay whatever they tell you to for something that is overhyped. MS did the same thing when the 360 came out, the price was a bit more reasonable though. The only reason i've been eyeing a 360 lately is Gears of War. And if they moved God of War 2 to the PS3, i'd be mad, but it would give me a reason to want the system.
It's all personal choice man.
MosquitoControl @ Oct 31st 2006 2:51PM
Microsoft has a huge lead, and the PS3 will be sold out everywhere until April, meaning no one will be able to get one until the Spring.
Just like with the 360.
So the launch isn't a huge problem. The huge problem is the price and the power. The most powerful system doesn't win. This has been a distinct trend. There are disadvantages that come with being the most powerful - programming is harder, development is costlier, and the console itself is costlier, yet all of this leads to only an incrementally noticeable difference to the end user.
Wedge @ Oct 31st 2006 2:57PM
People seem to think Sony won the last generation of console wars by magic and sugarplums despite it's mediocre launch. It wasn't magic, it was games. It was GTA3 all over the news and Final Fantasy and Metal Gear. Sales never really picked up until it had all those blockbuster titles. But Sony is slipping on that this generation, GTA is gone, and there is very few else that is an assured lock for the system. 360 will be setting itself far apart as the superior EA Sports console with Live (say what you want about EA, those things sell TONS) and has already taken, and may continue to take "exclusive" PS3 titles. If that trend continues, there is no reason to assume the PS3 is just going to win on it's name this generation.
Rootbeer @ Oct 31st 2006 3:23PM
This is the same ad agency that created that incomprehensible "eNOS -- U R NOTe" ADD/ADHD campaign for the original PlayStation, right?
That seemed to work, somehow. At least on a certain segment of the public. Maybe this new campaign will work just as well on that same segment this time around: the longtime Sony Faithful.
saboola @ Oct 31st 2006 3:24PM
"It's like CHEESE you can play OUTSIDE"
Yeah, im sure the PS3 campaign will be as good as that little gem from the PSP campaign. No thanks.
Mr. Khan @ Oct 31st 2006 3:58PM
I'd hit that
arch @ Oct 31st 2006 4:02PM
43. dont even TRY to justify 36's post. and dont even try to call MS's gaming division evil in any sorts. they have NEVER EVER lied about anything and you can TRY to tell me they have. they have NEVER shown CGI and passed it off as gameplay and they have NEVER not once underdelivered. theyre friggin MOTTO is overdeliver. (it was in the ourcolony video). its what they did with both their systems.
there is a HUGE difference between the Windows, microsoft and its gaming division. i would even go as far as saying they are totaly different companys.
and frankly #36. NO you CANT replace Sony with microsoft and get the same results. and you most certainly cant put nintendo.
Robotic House Plant @ Oct 31st 2006 4:23PM
Didn't we have a discussion here when the 360 was released about how they shouldn't have been advertising because not enough systems would be available?
Sony is in the same situation. But now we're talking about advertising to remind people that systems will eventually be available.