As we finish week 3 of the World Cup, I thought that this would be the opportune moment to look back and see how Sony has done during these matches in regards to its advertising. Although the World Cup is still something strange to many in the US, make no mistake that football soccer is the world largest sport by a huge margin with over 93 million live views and nearly 6 billion views in total. Of course, all of these stats might seem worthless to Sony until you think of the audience they have access to. This also marks a shifting point for Sony. The Playstation 3 has had a year of momentum going for it. Sony and the entertainment industry are on the verge of bringing 3D to homes and it’s now been about 4 years since Blu-ray launched. So how has Sony done during this time? Hit the jump to read our take on it.
First, we have to note that Sony is the official sponsor of the World Cup 2010. That means that most of the time, their ads are on the walls surrounding the soccer fields, as well as on top of the screen next to the score board. Look at the following pictures to get a better sense:
Being an official sponsor of a particular event usually translates to better ad spots during commercial break and it means that the company (Sony) has invested some serious cash to become the official sponsor. We must also note that the World Cup is different than other sports. Its not like basketball or football where there are plenty of commercial interruptions. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. There are commercials before the game, commercials during half time (which is only 15 minutes), and commercials after the game has ended. This means that when you air an ad, it better damn count because you don’t get to show them over and over.
With this, it baffled me that during week one, Sony was showing its Taylor Sift Cybershot TX7 ads. It seems like there are higher profile products that Sony needs to be showcasing than its Cybershots; maybe the Playstation or its eReader as the battle with the iPad, Kindle and Nook rages on. For whatever reason, the Cybershot was it. It’s not even an Alpha camera to say, “hey, it’s great for sporting events.” Over all, it’s not what I expected, but it’s not to say that the Taylor Swift ads are bad. In fact, Nikon airs commercials with Ashton Kutcher all the time and one thing I like about the Taylor Swift ads is that they shows off a feature of a camera that is unique and can draw people in, not just her taking pictures. However, for such a high profile event, I expected more.
Towards the end of week two and well into week three, the Taylor Swift ads are gone, replaced by Sony’s new 3D TV ads. This time, it’s staring Payton Manning and Justin Timberlake. As stars, I’m a big fan of both but I’m not sure their presence really adds much to the ad. See below:
Really, that could have been anybody walking in and being “blown away” by 3D and not being able to view things the same. So was the price paid for those actors worth it? Or better yet, were they used appropriately? Probably not. Something more compelling would be showing Payton in a football game and saying instead of being on the sidelines, you can experience what he is experiencing or be in his shoes while sitting in the comfort of your home, because thats how real 3D is. Use the same concept for Justin, instead of being at a concert or because you missed a concert, you can experience the same in 3D at home. Something along those lines. However, the one thing I did like from the ad is that it tells viewers that Sony is the only company creating 3D movies, games and now the equipment, but I’m not sure the average viewer cares. Instead, they need be told why 3D is different and how it can change their TV viewing and gaming experience.
To wrap things up, the reason I gave Sony a C+ is that they automatically get a D for just airing some commercials. It’s better than nothing and it is nice to see some presence from this company on air. What then bumps them up from their D to a C+ is the fact that the Taylor Swift ads do give a reason to get the TX7 Cybershot by displaying a reason that the panorama feature can be useful to the owner. Plus, at least Sony is telling the world that they now have 3D televisions as well. Having said that, the ads weren’t enough (I saw more AT&T commercials than Sony) and I feel like the ads could have compelled you more for the particular product being advertised.