Dorkly: Videogame advertising should be almost impossibly simple: all anyone needs to hear is that it’s a videogame, it’s fun to play, and…that’s it. “Videogames are fun, you should buy this one because look how fun it is!” Nothing more is necessary. But maybe it’s because of the utter simplicity needed that marketing for videogames gets so weird – to set your videogame apart, maybe the ad should be a surreal journey into a bizarre, trippy, nonsensical world?
The answer to that question is “no, really you shouldn’t do that, that’s just confusing”, but don’t tell the gaming industry that, because they’re pretty committed to it. Here are the worst videogame commercials of all-time.
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I saw it on TV all the time
Here's the comment I had on the YouTube video. It was the highest rated for a while (+42 currently) and probably the first sensible one.
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What does it mean?
*The 'alien'/'supernatu ral' power of the PS3 gives life to the baby.
*It reaches out and laughs like a child.
*The deranged laugh shows growing up. No longer childish.
*It gasps and tears stream down his face at the 'knowledge' or is in disbelief of the amazing visual/graphics he witnesses. (life experiences)
*The tears fade away. He is grown and accepts the truth.
*Calls it Momma (gave him life and knowledge).
It's basically showing PS3 is highly advanced&powerful or godly.
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The only thing I think is bad about it is the ///7 at the end. It's not really clear that's a date and it doesn't have the product name. The later ones had a better ending with the product name.
The whole theme of the messaging was "PLAY B3YOND" and showed off the advanced power of the PS3.
Smarter 2:13
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Smarter Long Version 9:13
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Rubik's Cube
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Eggs
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Ooze
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
MotorStorm
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Lair
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Baby
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
No offence but i think that's where Sony failed hard at marketing.
They should stop making TV ads that don't show anything about their product.
When normal people (non-gamers) see those ads, they're not going to say "Hmm, what could it all mean?", they're going to say "What the hell was that supposed to be?!" and forget about it after they see it.
It's the same mistake they've made with the Vita ads; the ads showed NOTHING of their new handheld. They need to shove their products into peoples faces and say "Hey, look at this, you need this, it's awesome, it's incredible, here are the games, here's what it looks like, here's the price, it's out now.
People can't buy their stuff if they don't even know that they've been released.
Resistance: Fall of Man is also in the baby's eyes as they light up in awe.. as far as games goes for that particular commercial. Obviously that's not too clear, but it's also not a commercial for RFoM, it's for the console launch.
Rubik's Cube is about the Cell processing power, Eggs shows off Sixaxis controls, Ooze shows games, and obviously Lair and MotorStorm show games.
It was 1 commercial in a campaign. You don't have to show every game and every feature in one 30 second commercial.
If you did, it would look something like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Which makes sense for FedEx relating themselves to speed, but not trying to cram in every detail about your new games console.
As far a price goes, I doubt they wanted to stress the launch price of the PS3. They were showing wow this will amaze you, get out to the store to buy one if the price tag doesn't scare you off. That's why I said they should have made it more clearly a date at the end with the product name, even though pretty much everyone knew (and owned) PlayStation 1/2 already.
I think your fight's more with Surfaced below defending Scottish Alien Girl. For that I'd agree with everything you said.
The "Mental Wealth" PlayStation commercial wasn't about a strange looking girl. You see, it was actually about what the girl said.
She talks about what makes games special, and how they are the medium of the future. She dismisses television as passe and tells people where we're headed:
"It's no longer about what they can achieve, out there on your behalf; but what we can experience, up here, and on our own time."
She's talking about interactivity. She's talking about videogames.
That commercial was one of the key influences in establishing the PlayStation's appeal to older demographics and withering the notion that videogames are exclusively for children.
It's not one of the worst commercials, it's one of the best. Along with the 'Double Life' ad, it's a reminder of the PS1's landmark status as a revolution in gaming.
I suppose you also think Apple's classic "1984" ad was terrible since it opted to be iconoclastic instead of simply saying "here's our new product, the Macintosh. It features blah blah blah and is getting rave reviews. Preorder now!"
Shame on you.
Disagreed with it being a good ad for PlayStation IMO, even though you make some good points near the end. Maybe it did appeal to older demographics in the UK.
You're right Apple's 1984 has nothing to do with the product, but is still regarded as being an iconic ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
But at least they're specific near the end about the product.
"Mental Wealth" barely mentions the brand/product at the end. Baby, which I defended above shows the product throughout the commercial and launch date at the end (even though it's not clear to be so; ///7).
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#2 on the list Gameboy Micro is funny
Some of the best gaming commercials never explicitly gave even a word about the product they were promoting. If nothing else, they serve to generate curiosity and establish brand identity: something that takes a lot longer to "get old" than a comedian mascot.
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