Sony Computer Entertainment America Captures Attention of the Mass Market With Aggressive Multi-Million Dollar Brand Campaign

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today a new campaign to elevate the profile of the PlayStation 2 gaming experience for the mass market. Launching this fall and continuing through the remainder of the year, the brand campaign fuels the already unprecedented momentum behind the industry-leading game console this holiday season together with the recent launch of the Network Adaptor (Ethernet/modem) (for PlayStation 2), which made PlayStation 2 the first online gaming option for the mass market. The multi-million dollar integrated campaign, developed by TBWA/Chiat/Day LA, includes cinema trailers, television, radio and Internet advertisements, and will be Sony Computer Entertainment America's first campaign dedicated to the PlayStation 2 brand since its 2000 debut.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000510/SFW104-a )

The brand campaign "Live in Your World. Play in Ours." represents Sony Computer Entertainment America's commitment to consumer choice by offering a breadth of compelling entertainment with something to satisfy everyone. The campaign delivers on the company's commitment to developing and nurturing content that fully engages the consumer on a very personal level to escape to a world where they can live out their aspirations and dreams.

Various executions of the campaign engage and entice the mass market audience while focusing on one main theme, the blurring of the line between reality and a uniquely PlayStation 2 surrealism. The theme is communicated through visceral, engaging allegories, often with a fundamental human aspiration involved -- such as to be a hero, recapture time, or win a victory -- and culminating with the invitation to, "Live in Your World. Play in Ours."

"With the unwavering success of the PlayStation 2 and the recent foray into online gaming, we have solidified our role as both a brand and entertainment visionary," said Andrew House, executive vice president, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "As the undisputed category leader, it is our responsibility to bring the videogame experience to a much wider audience than ever before. Through the "Live in Your World. Play in Ours." campaign, we hope to introduce videogames and in particular, articulate the fun and excitement of the PlayStation 2 entertainment experience, to a mass audience for the first time."

Reconnecting with the PlayStation 2 Core Audience

In preparation for the campaign rollout, Sony Computer Entertainment America first reinforced their commitment to the over 11 million loyal and powerful following of PlayStation 2 gamers who have grown to associate the PlayStation brand with an overwhelmingly fun and exciting entertainment experience.

To reconnect with this loyal following and to build intrigue and interest among PlayStation 2 enthusiasts for the upcoming brand campaign, Sony Computer Entertainment America created an industry-focused brand effort during the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3), the paramount videogame event that occurred this past May in Los Angeles. The advertisements focused on a brand element that is recognizable and familiar to PlayStation 2 gamers, the symbols on the controller buttons -- a circle, square, triangle and an x. The brand effort leveraged the symbols and their embodiment of the PlayStation experience by incorporating them into consumers' daily lives in the most unexpected places to suddenly become an invitation and a gateway to a parallel universe, the world of PlayStation.

Print and outdoor media showed everyday objects, a coffee cup, a railroad crossing sign, and a compact as representations of the PlayStation symbols. The symbols theme was also extended to the recent PlayStation 2 online launch with the symbols appearing as the ports on a telephone jack, establishing the symbols as a gateway to a new, online PlayStation experience.

Reaching the mass market

Having successfully reconnected with the core audience, Sony Computer Entertainment America built on the theme established by the E3 advertisements with the launch of the official "Live in Your World. Play in Ours." campaign. Extending the theme of blurring the line between reality and fantasy to a mass market, the company created a 60-second cinema trailer and four 30-second TV spots that relay various allegories with elements of game-play woven into every day life, and vice-versa.

The unique 60-second theater trailer entitled "Signs" is currently in movie theaters across America where it will be viewed by millions of moviegoers through a national buy with Screenvision. The spot unfolds with a man walking down the street, and then suddenly, a variety of cryptic signs, such as store mannequins, billboards, and people on the street, direct him towards saving a little girl. The power of the audio and video capabilities allowed by the big-screen add to the intensity of the trailer, drawing the moviegoer in and leaving them intrigued and wondering whether what they have just seen is reality or fantasy. The "Signs" trailer will run prior to hotly anticipated films including "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers." In addition, two more cinema trailers based on the "Live in Your World. Play in Ours." theme and featuring footage from new software titles will be released in theaters this December.

The four 30-second ad spots create a similar level of intensity and intrigue, enticing television viewers with a glimpse of the surrealistic PlayStation 2 experience. The four ad spots are airing on Fox, NBC and other major networks during the fall premier season including "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Smallville," and "Fox's NFL Sunday Football," and will reappear during the peak of the holiday selling season beginning in November and running through December. "Cops" and "Babies" were the first ads to debut from the new campaign followed by "Grandma" and "Brothers." The "Cops" spot features a police officer reminiscing with his partner about how he aggressively caught the bad guys, much to the fright of the arrested individual in the back of the car. As the officer continues to relay the details of the alleged apprehension, the criminal grows visibly more nervous not knowing whether the tale is reality or just fantasy.

In addition to the cinema trailer and ad spots, the campaign will be supported by radio and online advertising, again featuring the PlayStation symbols as an enticing invitation to a world where consumers are encouraged to stretch their imagination within their personal entertainment experience.

About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation® and PS one™ game console, and the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system. The PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system is set to revolutionize the home entertainment market, offering the most compelling interactive content and the capability to be used as a network terminal in the coming broadband era.

Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game console and the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

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SOURCE: Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.

CONTACT: Teresa Weaver, +1-650-655-5324, or
teresa_weaver@playstation.sony.com, or Monica Wik, +1-650-655-5394, or
monica_wik@playstation.sony.com, both of Sony Computer Entertainment America

Web site: http://www.playstation.com/