Wow ... I know that Sony can go a little nuts when it comes to weird PS3 commercials, but this Chilean ad really takes home the prize. The commercial portrays a gamer giving blood to a Nazi officer. Seriously, Sony is telling consumers that PS3 fans are essentially Nazi sympathizers.
To be fair, the Nazi in question is meant to be Erwin Rommel, generally considered the best of a bad lot, but even so, this is has caused quite a bit of uproar since its unveiling. The casual observer isn't going to immediately know it's Rommel, providing that observer even knows who Rommel is. The untrained eye will merely see a man happily donating blood to a decorated member of the Third Reich.
The ad is one of two revealed so far, with a gamer donating his heart to Joan of Arc in the other. On one level, it's quite a clever idea and the commercials are certainly quite bold and artistic. On another level, he's giving a blood transfusion to a f*cking Nazi!
Both brilliant and stupid at the same time. Gotta love Sony's marketing brains.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
6:00 PM on 09.29.2009
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First there was the racial controversy over the PSP "white is coming" billboard and now this Nazi sympathizer. What's next ?
Screw it, I have no idea whatsoever. I'll just add this to "creepy baby" and "creepy eye girl" in Sony's PS ads. >_<
Either way it made you post it here, so I guess it's doing something right.
[i]http://www.funnyforumpics.com/forums/Demotivational/4/picard-no-facepalm.jpg[/img]
...i hope people know this is a joke
That's a good point Primo.
Don't say that, you'll give them ideas for the next one.
Well said.
And killing allied soldiers doesn't make you a bad guy. That makes you a soldier. Torturing allied soldiers does, but Rommel was known and respected for his humane treatment and honorable conduct.
i think sony fanboys hit a new low once they start spinning this as a good ad by trying to spin Rommel as a saint. the comments section on engadget is just sad with the editors threatening to close the comments section.
Yes, he was merciful to his prisoners, defiant against orders to kill Jews, and even plotted to kill Hitler, but that doesn't erase the fact he still went around with his troops into towns, capturing families (how else does he get prisoners?) and overall supporting the Nazi effort. He was well respected by other Nazis for making possible their tyranny. Abraham Lincoln may have not liked Blacks being slaves, but he sure as hell didn't want to call them equals.
Heck, I think the fan song about how Sony destroyed it's brand is better at marketting the PS3 than the ads they idiotically spew out at obviously 30 times the cost.
It was created by lazy creative’s that didn’t think about consequences.
So, you wanted for the general to shoot flowers and french kiss the Allies?
This is beyond mere stupidity. This is practically an attempt to use advertising revenue to lower sales. If I were an investor, I would demand that both the president of the marketting department and anyone who had a hand in designing this ad be sacked immediately, even if it means not having a marketting department. This is practically corperate sabotage, and makes me wonder who was bribed by Microsoft to make, run, and approve these ads.
The image is well executed. The message is rubbish. I don't care what the intention was. If I showed this to a test group, I don't think I'd come out with a positive view of my client or its product. That's what's unacceptable here, not the "Nazi sympathizing" that's the focus of everyone's attention.
What depresses me is that this was once someone's idea. And they told their boss about this idea and they got the ok. Then they got a budget together, hired some actors, wrote out a shooting script. Once filmed it went to the editors to cut and send out to whoever wanted to air it. And nowhere along this train of thought someone stood up and screamed "Ya know, it might be a fucking STUPID IDEA!"
Sony could really just make a whole marketing ploy out of showing a Red Ring of Death and saying "THIS WONT HAPPEN" and it would work better than this.