Sony launches £82m ad push for PlayStation 3 across Europe
August 25, 2009 by Eric
Filed under Electronics
Sony is to launch an £82m pan-European marketing campaign for the PlayStation 3, firing the first advertising salvo against rivals Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox as consumers start to think about presents for Christmas 2009.
The TV element of the campaign, which has been developed by the TBWA agency, marks a complete departure from Sony’s traditional tactic of often esoteric and dark commercials.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, which has committed £6m to marketing in the UK, has not run a major ad campaign for the PS3 since the new games console launched almost two years ago.
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The launch of the PS3 was accompanied by a TV ad featuring a range of bizarre Cirque du Soleil-type performers, called “the entertainers”, to represent the capabilities of the console.
However, the new set of TV ads, the first of which launch in the UK tonight, focus on the simpler aim of describing the range of services available on the PS3. These include online gaming and Blu-ray movies, downloading TV and film content and being able to watch the BBC iPlayer.
“Two years after launch PlayStation 3 is realising its full potential,” said Alan Duncan, UK marketing director. “The console is moving beyond gaming and gaming is moving beyond discs.”
SCEE is desperate to win the Christmas sales battles against rivals Nintendo and Microsoft this year. The campaign comes on the heels of a price-cut announcement at the European games trade show Gamescom.
Screen Digest has forecast that Sony will sell 4.3m PS3 consoles across Europe this year and a total of 11.16m across the lifetime of the product.
Nintendo’s Wii will sell 7.5m consoles in Europe this year, bringing its total sales for the region to more than 21m, according to Screen Digest. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 will hit just below 3m this year, a total of just under 11m across Europe since the console went on sale.
