Sony returns to TV with camera campaign after blowing up giant mirror in Namibian desert
Sony will tomorrow broadcast its first Australian TV ads for two years as part of an integrated campaign by Havas Worldwide Sydney to promote its range of mirrorless cameras.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8waM16cPMyc
The ads were shot in the Namibian desert – after Adelaide and New Zealand were ruled out for being too wet – and feature a huge mirror being shattered.
Sony Australia and NZ head of marketing communications Sam Williams told Mumbrella two thirds of the campaign’s media spend has been slated for TV which he insisted remained the best mass market channel for the brand.
“Every medium has its place, but we feel the mirrorless camera is a mainstream product and the media buy was based on the 18 to 49 demographic,” he said.
“We wouldn’t go to TV for anything that was targeted towards the youth or older market, but everyone understands photography and everyone wants to be a better photographer, so TV is the right fit.”
The TV slots, to run for six weeks on Seven, Ten, Eleven and subscription channels, will be supported by digital and retail executions that will run for an additional two months.
A micro site has also been created containing behind the scenes footage of the film shoot and an explanation of the mirrorless technology which Sony said makes the camera lighter, smaller and faster.
The need to produce “something epic” also lent itself to television, Williams said.
The ad, cut into 15, 30 and 60 second versions, shows a giant mirror shattering in slow motion against the backdrop of a desert landscape.
Williams told Mumbrella: “The creative came from a product proof. We have removed a mirror from the camera so it was a product-centric brief from that perspective.
“It needed to draw attention to the mirrorless technology and what better way than to take a mirror into the desert and dramatically blow it up. We wanted it to be impactful but in a simple, effective way.”
He added that Sony has set a “very high benchmark with that sort of ad”, referring to the 2010 Bravia bouncy balls campaign for Bravia TVs.
Explaining the need to travel half way round world to shoot the Australian commercial, Williams told Mumbrella producers were seeking an “otherworldly location that stood out from everything else you see on TV”.
“We looked at New Zealand and Adelaide where we shot our last Australian TV commercial for the 4K TV but Namibia had the least rain days which was a huge positive. But more than anything it was a completely different landscape,” he said.
While the ad was produced specifically for the Australian markets, other regions may run with the ad, Williams added.
In addition to TV, retail in particular will play a “hugely important” part in the campaign, he said.
The marketer revealed that the who travelled to Namibia bought a Makalani doll from a local tribe to protect against the bad luck which can come from smashing mirrors.
Steve Jones
Credits
Creative agency: Havas Worldwide Sydney
Executive creative director: Tim Green
Creative directors: Seamus Higgins & Stuart Turner
Group account director: Brent Kerby
Senior account director: Steve Osaer
Account manager: Lawrence Pretty
Head of design: Darren Cole
Creative services: Warrick Nicholson, Chris Hulsman
Head of broadcast: Monique Pardavi
Production company: The Sweet Shop
Director: Noah Marshall
Producer: Tony Whyman
Executive producer: Edward Pontifex
Managing director: Wilf Sweetland
DOP: Jamie Ramsey
SPFX: Max Poolman
Editor & company: Tim Mauger, The Butchery
Post production: Beryl, Auckland
Original soundtrack: Elliott Wheeler, Turning Studios
Sound design: Abby Sie, SongZu
Media agency: OmnicomMediaGroup
Public relations: Hausmann Communications
So he wouldn’t use TV to target the older audience … hmm wonder where he’s going to find them then? Oh yeah – playing keno at the rissole!
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Self-indulgent twaddle that is so boring it’s the a mirror of watching paint dry.
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Williams told Mumbrella: “The creative came from a product proof. We have removed a mirror from the camera so it was a product-centric brief from that perspective.”
Wouldn’t the creative NOT have a mirror in it if that statement were true?
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Very Cool ad, but 7 years bad luck (in sales) may result.
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Just a big boring gimmick.
I’m a hobby photographer, and whether or not my camera has a mirror – I didn’t even know digital cameras had one – is pretty far down the list of considerations when I buy a camera
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Isn’t it nice to see the young trolls of the new generation at work today – keep it up kids, your insights are illuminating
ps..thought the ad did a good job for Sony whether it’s a Just Noticeable Difference or not, be good to see what other parts of the comms plan they have to drive action
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It’s no Bravia Balls though is it.
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“Namibia had the least rain days”
I know right? Not like the deserts in Australia where it’s totally raining ALL the time.
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Gen y – we know where you work….
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Well I thought it was great. Well done.
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At least Sam looks cool
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That’s really f’ing cool!
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Yeah, it’s no Bravia bouncy balls. The key to these spectacle ads (bouncy balls, Will It Blend, etc.) is that it should be something the audience would want to do themselves, if they could. Breaking a big mirror doesn’t fulfil that fantasy.
I know I for one have been oppressed by the use of small mirrors deflecting light in SLR cameras, so having the song tell me how I was supposed to feel about the mirror breaking was very helpful.
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Insight?
Benefit?
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