Before I get started, let me just say that I like Kevin Butlet. He's an excellent market tool and definitely an improvement over the PS3's past advertising tools. (That freaky baby still haunts me). He's a great icon for the playstation family & I think he does a great job at advertising the hardware, Move, price cuts, etc. Due to his comedic & humorous nature, He's also pretty efffective with the more Sony's more light-hearted games. Games like MonNation Racers, Uncharted 2, & LittleBigPlanet work fine with Kevin Butler. KB, being a funny man and all, worked great with those games. I don't have a problem with that. My problem is how Sony uses this comedic character in nearly EVERY game, even their dark-toned, more serious games.

Sony has used Kevin Butler in some innapropriate times in my opinion. Particularly in their games that are supposed to convey a dark, more gritty tone. Kevin just doesn't match up with that tone due to his comdic nature.

One example that I can think of is God of War 3.  This a game involving a rage-filled murderer seeking vengeance while brutally decapitating any man, woman, child, or animal who gets in his way. This is no funny game. This game has no humor. The KB commercial for God of War 3 showed this game in a much more light-hearted, humorous manner. I couldn't help but feel the commercial failed at conveying the tone that one would get while actually playing God of War 3.

Sony could have done a much better job by just showing some gameplay of the game. Maybe have Kratos following a path murdering enemy after enemy, with each enemy being more powerful than the last, with the commercial ending with Kratos staring a huge boss face-to-face. Of course that would just be my idea of a great God of War commercial.

Another example is Killzone 3. Killzone 3 is supposed to be a gritty experience telling the story of the hardships faced by the ISA. Players are supposed to feel out-numbered, out-gunned, on the brink of desperation. Like GOW, this game isn't supposed to be funny or comedic. it should feel like a pretty gruesome experience. The KZ3 ad failed at conveying this experiece in my opinion.

Sometimes Kevin Butler commercials seem innapropriate even with their less gritty games. An example is InFamous 2. The commercial showed very little inFamous 2 and too much 'other'. The commercial seemed to be split in three ways between Kevin Butler, inFamous 2, and that underpants guy. The pre-launch trailers were much better in my opinion. They did a much better job at showing people what type of game it was all about.

In the future, I hope Sony starts to use KB on a game-by-game basis, as opposed to just using him in every game they release. I haven't seen any Resistance 3 commercials on TV so I don't know if Sony is going to use him in that. I saw the 'KB meets R3' commercial but It seemed like more of a internet commercial than a TV one. I'm hoping Sony creates a non-KB ad for R3. R3 is supposed to be a gritty, almost survival type game and deserves a trailer that conveys that feeling. I'm almost certain that Sony will use KB for an Uncharted 3 commercial. While I can accept KB ad with UC, a compressed version of the Cargo trailer would be much better in my opinion.

I have my fingers that Sony doesn't use Kevin Butler with The Last Guardian. If there's any game that should have a serious commercial, it's The Last Guardian.

Some games I thought that had great commercials include Gears of War, Assassin's Creed 2, Modern Warfare 2 & some others. AC2 showed the character platforming while killing enemies while also showing ratings and awards the game achieved. The Gears of War ad was pretty effective too. It showed Marcus running down a dark tunnel until he was confronted by a group of strange aliens. Both of these commercials succeeded in showing the tone of the games.

So in conclusion, I think Kevin Butler has become an excellent icon for sony. He does a great job at advertising the PS3, Move, and certain game. But he is sometimes used innapropriatly in Sony's more gritty games. Sony needs to pick and choose which gams KB should be in. They shouldn't just put him in every game they release.

Of course that's my opinion, what do you think?

BTW, I'm specifically referring to TV ads.

I agree. I think their recent stance with using two trailers one for kevin butler and the other for gameplay of resistance 3 is also a good methodology.

They made a straight R3 advert.

Naaaw he helps all games... your just mad the trailer doesnt protray the game in light you want to be portrayed in. The point of marketing is to get attention and peek interest NOT to portray the product in its natural light... I mean cmon PS2 Toy story graphics ...lies but it work

I found the God of War 3 commercial by KB one of his best. It show's the product afterwards just fine and the humour in front get's the attention of the consumers.

On the other hand the Ratchet and Clank game has a very dark commercial while the game is brightly coloured (although that is also a hilarious commercial)

Advertising in America can't be as hard as Sony makes it seem. If Apple and McDonald's can get people to buy their crap, Sony should be able to as well. KB is a good start, but the OP is right in that it'll take more than him to persuade casual gamers to give hardcore titles a try.

just get rid of KB all together. How long can they go on with the KB campaign? They'll come up with something else evenutally,nothing is forever,although,it's felt like forever.

I hate the guy, so, if they remove him for all games and ads and everything, .... I'll be glad :)

I don't know how it's possible to hate the guy, considering he has brought a much better ad campaign for Sony than their older ones. I think the ad campaign with Kevin Butler seems to be catching some attention of people who watch TV.