Japanese ads frequently miss the mark, often being overly bizarre or simply cringe-inducing, but sometimes the marketing gurus hit the back of the net, as with this latest TV spot from PlayStation Japan.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2016 (known in Japan as Winning Eleven) was released to most of the world in mid-September, but only came to Japan on October 1, which means that the marketing campaign is still in full swing over here.
PlayStation Japan also recently revealed their new tagline, which roughly translates as “doing the impossible; it’s awesome”. (Playstation boss Shuhei Yoshida’s translation is “It’s awesome you can do impossible things in games”, but I think mine is totally snappier.) While the first ad in the campaign was overly twee, with its drawn-out musical number, this second ad, specifically for PES, is much better.
The ad has three ordinary people showing off their skills on the pitch while in their own comfy lounge clothes. A little kid with a packet of crisps skillfully dribbles the ball; a man in his pajamas holding a cup of tea does some neat tricks; a woman in a bathrobe does a high-flying kick. Now we’re not going to say that these people don’t have mad soccer skills, but we’re pretty sure even Beckham couldn’t manage those moves with a scalding hot cup of tea in his hand and his bathrobe flapping about.
▼ Why bother with all that sweaty, exhausting training when you can easily be a pro athlete from the comfort of your couch?
▼ Watch people doing the impossible (and singing) in the first ad.
The PES ad does a great job of showing how you can become involved in a game world while still snuggled up nice and warm at home. The portrayal of excited gamers in their natural habitats is more relatable than the shiny-happy antics in the first video, and hopefully they’ll give the sing-alongs a rest for any further ads in the series.
Source: Twitter/Shuhei Yoshida, YouTube/PlayStation Japan
Screenshots: YouTube/PlayStation Japan