Balls

The most common question in ad incumbent land seems to be “What is your favourite advert and why?” My reply – “Balls”, Bravia Balls that is, and here’s why.

By allowing a piece of fruit to stealthily grow from a pip to a GM gargantuan Granny Smith, the portable music king Sony Walkman became second to iPod within the space of just over a year. Sony made a mistake not tapping into the portable MP3 market with its then market leading Walkman brand. Sceptics wrote Walkman off – R.I.P. Walkman 1979-2004(ish). I didn’t, don’t and doubt I will; I think the Walkman branded Sony Ericsson mobile route is inspired. I digress, bring on the... Balls.

Sony appears to have learnt from their Walkman error, and spotting a clearly neglected gap in a (then) emerging HDTV market, and launching the famous Balls advert. In a market where every brand was/is/will be claiming to be the brightest, the most colourful, the most stylish, differentiation is difficult. Sony has always had its own unique style, a globally known and trusted brand associated with consumer electronics, and a prestige brand image to maintain. They realised that unlike the competition, it wasn’t tech specs that the mass potential HDTV consumer were looking for, it was a stylish, awe-inspiring, status symbol to add to their lifestyles and living rooms. An HDTV wasn’t a replacement for a TV set; it was a progression to the next era of entertainment.

A truly bold, captivating and memorable advert with such simple messaging – Colour.Like.No.Other (with a deliberate misspell ‘Color’ of courseJ). Sony had boldly come along, and without even showing the product until the end, set the association of vibrant and beautiful colour for their Bravia brand and product. This advert is one of few among the many that have reminded me why I am so passionate about creative messaging ideas that inspires and touches people’s minds. Simple, effective, unique, memorable and captivating, the Balls advert became an instant TV to Digital hit (something I will be touching upon on another day, another blog...) – I still have that screen saver somewhere...

Finally, I personally do not think there are many other ways to show true appreciation and homage to an advert then when another brand creates a parody of another. Well done Tango! A hilarious spoof that was actually as brilliant (in different ways of course) as its inspiration – and not a burst eardrum in sight!