'This is Living' toilet girl helps flush PAL PS3 sales

I'm fully expecting to find out, in the next 3 years or so, that these ads contain some sort of highly advanced subliminal messages. That's the only way they will make sense.

First of all, I'd like to mention that I live in France. This means that I get my share of crappy ads. The people I know are used to the same thing. Yet, after seeing PS3 ads, the same people would be amazed at how completely the ads could be so extraordinarily baffling. Everyone I know who has seen PS3 ads was shocked/incredulous and some thought it was a mistake, they hadn't really seen a PS3 ad. To those saying if people are talking about these ads are good: Get your head out of your ***. Having people say your PR and commericals are completely retarded is NOT a good thing. No one knows anything about the PS3 except that Sony is crazy and it's 599 Euros.

And how many people got PS3s at the French launch parties? 20 people got PS3s when 1,000 were offered at the Eiffel Tower and 5 people lined up at one of France's biggest retailers. I'd say these ads are harming Sony if anything.

You Americans dont have any sense of humour. Sorry, yes you do... but its SOOOO predictable, and cheezy. Don't get me wrong, I love American Humour, but its not very sophisticated. Sorry guys but thats why these ads arent being shown over there in your lovely land.

I personally find these ads entertaining, ok they don't say much for the PS3.. initially, but they stick in your head, and make you think about what it all means. It gets PS3 in your head, the slogan is in your head too "This is Living" when you go into a shop here selling PS3 you see "THIS IS LIVING" plasteres everywhere near the PS3. And if the light bulb hasnt popped already it does then.

They make you think...

BTW... Where did YOU get the sales information for the Euro PS3 launch Joystiq? AFAIK the details arent available yet... Oh, hang on I forgot, one shop in France and a few in Australia AT MIDNIGHT denot THE WHOLE LAUNCH DISASTER!!!

Way to go on focusing on the negative press once again lads. Why not use your brains and figure out that there is plenty of stock, so most folks have been sensible and stayed in bed, got a good nights sleep for work the next day, then popped into their local outlet after work on Friday and picked up thier PS3 very easily. I would have done the same but there was a chance of WINNING the PS3 I preordered. So I turned up for that. And the guy right next to me won!! good for him (he was a really nice guy, and said how he'd never won anything before) and the night ended up being a good laugh (Not the cold boring wait I thought it would be).

Carry on folks.

Sony might as well have just thrown their money down the drain with these ads. They certainly won't influence people who weren't already thinking of buying the ps3, to come buy the ps3. And that's why I consider it a failure.

I am European, the adverts are smart- I like them.

Sony adverts in Europe have always been entertaining. The reason it isn't selling is because Sony is shipping tons over here. They don't need the bad press of £700 consoles and eBay touters.

They need to get the install base up before they start haemoraging money. The adverts were good.. money well spent I'd say. Man has always disputed things he didn't understand.

I'm not buying a system because it costs £425, not because the adverts didn't work. That is not SCEE's problem.

I would like to point out that the ads don't work.

Yes, we're talking about them. This is a gaming blog...it's what we do. Who else is talking about them? No-one.

Will these ads be remembered? No. There's no hook. There's no catch. They don't make sense and they are not interesting. Here's an example of an ad that you'll have remembered. One for the original Xbox of the woman giving birth and the baby flies through it's life and ends in its grave.

Everyone remembers that one.

In Europe, and probably most of the world, Sony are seen as arrogant and gamers are a bit pissed off with them. The advertisement should have gone some way to correct this - or at least not built upon that image. Has it?

Ok not going to say that I'm a big Sony or Microsoft supporter and I'm not even going to go as far as saying Nintendo is the way to go. The three consoles go after different styles of players end of story. Sony is more for your 10 hours of game play every day up till the wee hours of the night...Xbox is for your weekend gamer...and lets face it I've heard reports of the Wii being used in schools....personally more power to em...if they can get a group of kids to run in place in a 12x12 room for 30 minutes thats better then what coaches did for most of us. We were lucky if they could get us to run on a track for longer then 5 minutes....and a track is a great deal more space (meaning money) then a 12x12 room....

As for the wack job sony adds just how many of you have spent the $599+tax for a Sony with a 60gig drive? I mean face it people are gonna buy it....its kinda like a car in the US...doesn't really matter what it looks like any more people are gonna buy it....sony knows this. Sony also knows that they're system is going to last 8 or 9 years even in the electronics market that usually puts something into the dark ages in 3 months....I mean the main ram though is only 256MB the latency is almost nothing and its got a 3.2ghz bus someone point out even Video ram that has that...please...I'm begging you....the sony is coming out far beyond its time and thats what these wack job commericals are for to show that....personally I got friends in europe that has never once seen the shit that is on you-tube....and the weirdest commerical I've seen in the US is the one with the birds explaining the 9-axis controller...

Another thing they are showing off the console and its accessories not the games...games have they're own adverts. Oh yeah almost forgot Blu-ray ladies and gents....not DVD....meaning 52gigs on one layer...need to read the specs not what the media tells ya I mean honestly didn't your parents ever teach ya that what comes on TV is almost never true....its the media (propaganda a military tactic used by the russians, chinese, vietnamis, koreans, Germans (yes the nazi's used it) and even the so-called "good" nations the US, UK, France, and canada)....my advice to you is to just go out and look at one...oh yeah....might want to look into the Philips 3D tv thats coming out 2008....HD-DVDs won't have the storage space to support it....sorry HD....your time was good....but short lived....

Just a reminder, sony doesn't want people who see these ads to be talking about the PS3, they want people buying PS3s.

I went to see 300 the other night and this advert was on before hand. No one in the cinema was going "wow, those are some impressive games/console."

Most were thinking "wtf was that" or "that girl had some nice tits"

pfft, europeans can't be that smart if they buy all that pseudo philosophical bullshit that the ad is espousing and somehow believe that buying a material product will somehow enable them to 'start living'

Personally, I hate it when ads try to sell products with such crap. Not only is it just a subtler form of the old 'buy our stuff! it makes you cooler!'kind of advertising, how sad do they think their consumers really are if they have to get directions about their life from a FRIGGING company or product? But then again, this obviously targets Sony Fanboys so maybe they're on the right track -_-....

@ Biphster

Hay asshole, we do have a sence of humor. We just do not have a stick up our ass like your people have.

That add dose make us think...of not buying a PS3 and something like a Wii.

A movie is nice, but they are trying to sell a gameconsole here. In this, it fails.

Stop talking anecdotally about Sony's performance on Friday, and wait until sales figures come in, ok?

The fact the actual ads which did air in Europe about the PS3 (which have already stopped) never even mentioned the PS3, just their un-familiar slogan: "this is living" and a link to a website which doesn't even have the Playstation logo on it ANYWHERE. Poor marketing, even worse PR and cost made the PS3 an utter failure.

Sony PS1 and PS2 commercials have always been rather bizarre. They were more concerned with positioning the PS as some kind of otherwordly console than actually making people interested in buying them. Fortunately for Sony the actual Playstation brand was so strong that the terrible ad campaigns didn't hamper sales. Of course it all changed with the PS3 which has a rather tarnished image at the moment and isn't selling well. And now those bizarre ads do in fact even stop people from buying a PS3 because it just reinforced the current idea that the PS3 is a commercial dead duck you don't want to be associated with.

Y'know, If I was Microsoft, I would give Europe the $100.00 price drop RIGHT NOW! Then it would truly KILL the PS3! I'm in the U.S. and I already own one, So drop the price, M$!!

The most ironic part about the PS3 ads is: the only television to appear in them was an old standard-definition CRT from the '80s. The characters are "living" without the need for any of the high-tech, high-definition gadgets that Sony is trying to sell!

Im european. They ads suck ass.

@ceark,

actually, Sony will be doing microtransactions as well.

I was curios on the launch day to see how many PS3 they sold in my city ... a big state capital in Germany ... I went to 2 big electronic markets ... one of them the most popular in my city ... to see how many were sold.

Not too many ... no line, either ... look here

Photo 1

and here:

Photo 2

Had to take fotos with my phone. So sorry for the bad qualilty. I wonder why they didn't want to let anyone take fotos.

I think this launch was realy a disaster, no matter which console you like better ...

Sorry ... my bad ... here the links to the photos again ...

Btw. it was on launch day. In the first photo there is just one guy playing the demo unit and is girl friend right next to him. And there were two Sony marketing guys - one lady - which were looking really sad. ;)

On the second one there are only three employes, one of them from the Apple floor ... and two kids like 10 year old - playing the demo.

It was in the afternoon ... after work.

I was really suprised that nobody was there.

http://img266.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2303071706ly5.jpg

http://img54.imageshack.us/my.php?image=2403071652on9.jpg

These are seriously TV ads? It seems like Sony can't help but do everything the hard way when it comes to marketing.

@55

"Sony also knows that they're system is going to last 8 or 9 years even in the electronics market that usually puts something into the dark ages in 3 months....I mean the main ram though is only 256MB the latency is almost nothing and its got a 3.2ghz bus someone point out even Video ram that has that...please...I'm begging you....the sony is coming out far beyond its time and thats what these wack job commericals are for to show that..."

Most people don't want 'ahead of their time'. Ahead of their time was:
-The Amiga
-Betamax
-BeOS
-Talking Cars (Uggh.)
-The fact that DVD sales didn't pass VHS sales until 2ish years ago.
-The 'HD Future' that was supposed to be legislated into existence in the US a few years back but never happened because people treat TVs like furniture.
-Insert all of the whizz bang multi function devices that got their asses handed to them by single function devices.
-Ohh, NeXT OS and boxes.

There are phycological reasons for this. People like simple fixed function devices that they can comprehend and fully use. (Or they just hate 'paying' for functionality they don't use.) There are economic reasons as well. Especially in the world of microprocessors where prices increase exponentially as you move past the rolling optimum of the best price performance point.

The PS3 might have been designed to have a life of years and years, but like the products above if the market (ie consumers) stick a fork in it say it's dead, it's dead. If you're lucky it gets a happy cult following.

The PS3 isn't at that point yet... But it got out of the gate poorly this generation, and unless it turns around Sony would be nuts to run it against the next generation. Unless they were planning to exit the video game market.

Jesus Christ, those ads are embarrassingly horrible. What freak of nature dreamed up those POS's?

For those saying any publicity is good publicity, they are sort of right, bad publicity will hurt you short term, but it raises brand awareness (say a nongamer sees these commercials, really says "WTF!" and then goes to research this mysterious PLAYSTATION 3)

But GOOD publicity, and good commercials, would help so much more, i mean Sony can't possibly not know that these commercials suck, and there's no chance that they said "we'll deliberately make whacked-out commercials so that we can promote viral brand awareness"

By the powers of grey skull that chick is smoking hot! Curves in all the right places and a pretty face too. DAMN!

Uhm.

Wut?

You might think I'm nuts, but anybody that has researched this field will know what I'm talking about.

This campaign is extremely sophisticated.

Most of the techniques for this type of method of advertising were developed decades ago.

Read about Tavistock to find out more.

They are designed to to use specific images and noises as cues to trigger your sub-conscience and open it up for what ever is being suggested.

Usually the most effective images and sounds - violence, death, any type of profanity, explosions etc.

Anything that will create and emotional response in the person watching it.

The last frame is almost alway with the Playsation 3 logo.

@Ang

I most certainly understand how an advertiser would want to stir an emotion in the viewer, to make an impression. Do these ads do that? Yes ... but I think it is entirely the wrong response. Shouldn't they do something that makes people perhaps smile, or think "Ooo, that looks cool" or even make the person laugh? Something to do with fun or enjoyment?

The "Jump In" commercial by Microsoft for the 360 is a good example. You see people of many backgrounds, sizes, shapes, and colors, jumping rope in all manners. It looks fun and well orchestrated. It doesn't leave you confused, or with "WTF" stamped across your forehead. People playing together. Not hard to understand.

I just don't get it. What in these ads will inspire a person to get a PS3? Unless that wasn't their purpose behind it ...

@ Dolla Dolla

I you want to know what is being suggested close your eyes and listen to what is being said in the ads. Then look at the last frame.

they don't need to show the product, softwares or any features... it's the best console anyway... and not many softwares yet ... you already know what is the feature...

anyway it's true that the ad is ... the missing link~

false if you say 360 is better console... anyway... 360 games having a period problem ... it just so fast to finish the game? hello? I just start to enjoy the game, then... what? "the end"
thanks to M$ decicion maker that don't have a long term think about 360 investment... they should have use HD-DVD~ or blue-ray.

now they want to release another version of 360... dude~ I bought my 360 for at least I can use for another 5 years. they should have ad campaign saying "this is PC"

"So Should we show off the PS3 and what it can do?"

"Fuck that were SONY!!, we could shove a bunch of shit into the ads and people would still buy it, infact thats what we'll do!"

I get these ads!!! They're arresting, quirky with intriguing characters. Think cinematic takes on lifestyle choices. The ads conceptually are clearly not about games, rather about a lifestyle message: that indulgent living is an expensive life (did you spot the PS3 connection?). Whether they work is anybody's guess, but their raw, arty edge is appealing to me. But then I work in the arts, so maybe that has something to it.

wanna see a good game-related ad?
Gears of War

Wanna see crap?
Sony-euro-ps3-campaign

You remember when a great new movie comes out but the trailers only show you little bits ... the idea is you DON'T know what it's all about, but they've shown you enough to get curious ... even if you don't know what the movie is or what the story is, the bit they've shown you is enough for you to think "I want to know what this is all about."

These ads are working on the same principle ... people who wouldn't normally be interested in games consoles ARE interested in things that raise their curiosity. They want to know what's going to happen next.

Let the campaign run to it's completion and THEN see what effect it has on sales ... I predict it will be a very successful campaign. The only reason you don't like them is because you don't understand them ... and that's the whole point of this type of campaign ... the fact that NOT understanding them annoys you shows that you WANT to understand them ... therefore you'll keep watching, even if only out of a morbid curiosity ... this method has made LOST one of the biggest selling TV shows in the world!

What the guy in the bath says is exactly what the message of the advert is meant to be ... life is dull! Sony want to make it less dull! I'm curious enough to keep watching ... therefore Sony has got me hooked ... which means they can now start subliminally feeding me their promotional messages and I'm already too involved to notice!

Maybe it are strange commercials but they aren't bad. The main thing of advertising has been reached, everybody knows the commercial, the product and is talking about it.

i think saying these ads are what's killing the ps3's sales is a bit of a stretch. yes, as far as advertising goes, they fail. as far as entertainment goes, they win. i like these commercials. i would way rather see that every time i turn on the tv than another axe commercial, or some lady pouring blue water on a maxi pad. and really, if anyone sees the commercial and thinks to themselves 'gee, i wish they would have told me more about the system' then they can waddle over to the internet and find all the information they like. no matter how successful one commercial is, i don't think it will ever convince anyone to lay down $700.

I've been working for an advertising agency for many years, and I have to say that Sony has the best ads of the 3 companys.

Getting somone to talk about an ad is called win.

Having a nice nintendo ad that noone remembers is called fail.

The reason businesses spend money on ads is because they think the ads will bring in more revenue than they cost. These ads where probably cheap, though the real cost is not making the ad but paying to air it. Watching these ads, I do not think they will stimulate profit. The sales figures in these regions seem to support this hypothesis.

Many criticize the PS3, but really what they are upset by is the lack of good games. I personally think the only bad thing about the PS3 is the price tag...and yes, the lack of good games at this time.

Furthermore... to Simon #87. If PS3 made an ad where a kid bashed another kid's skull in with a PS3, would that be a 'win' or a 'fail'? I'm sure many would talk about it.