New PS3 TV Spot Sends Muddled Message
November 01, 2007 | 9:15:05 AM
According to Sony's VP of Marketing, Peter Dille, the marketing campaign for the 40GB PS3 is going to have a "high-energy, entertainment-driven" focus, by which he means it will emphasize the console's exclusive games. In addition to pushing titles like Drake's Fortune, Warhawk, Heavenly Sword, and Ratchet & Clank, the ads will spotlight the PlayStation Network "(did I mention online gaming is free on PS3??)", the PlayStation Store, and Home.You can check out two of Sony's new TV commercials here. They're both very slick, but I think the second one is the only one that actually helps sell the console. Its message is simple: look at these pretty games, which you can only play on a PS3, which starts at $399. That's something that an uninformed consumer can hear and understand without any supplemental information.
The first one, on the other hand, just throws out way too much information without any kind of context. If you don't know about Blu-ray, or Home, or the PlayStation Network already, those brief images mean nothing to you. Perhaps they're meant to inspire the viewer to hurry into their local retail outlet and ask questions, but I think in trying to deliver so much information in such a compressed space, they've muddled their message.
If Sony wants people to buy PS3s, they need to start clearly communicating the console's strengths, something they've really yet to do. Explain to us why we'd be fools not to have a PS3 in our entertainment center, Sony, don't just flash a bunch of slick graphics and expect us to figure it out for ourselves. That brief flash of Home makes it look like little more than another Sims game--put some bait on that hook or leave it out entirely. Yes, Peter, you mentioned to us that online play is free on the PS3, now how about mentioning it to people who don't already know that?
Obviously, these are just two commercials, and it's entirely possible that other ads in the campaign will focus on the very issues I've addressed, or at least just go back to the more simple message of "check out these awesome games you can only play on PS3." One thing both commercials get right is making the price point of $399 the very last thing the viewer sees. Perhaps that's really all they need to do.
New PS3 TV Ad Campaign [PlayStation.blog]
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