Sony is so edgy.

Sony, go back to marketing class 101 and fire your current marketing team while your at it.


First there was the racial controversy over the PSP "white is coming" billboard and now this Nazi sympathizer. What's next ?

To be fair, even I sympathize with Rommel. He wasn't a terrible guy, and he got fucked hard. That said, I wouldn't base a marketing campaign around the fact that I don't hate every Nazi, both because that will generate a lot of bad press and it doesn't actually even make sense on a logical level.

They were a very good military force, you gotta hand it to them.

I like them and they can have a different meaning than the one you are implying. Maybe he's giving blood so he can fight Rommel again?
Either way it made you post it here, so I guess it's doing something right.

To all of you who say Rommel was not a terrible guy, you need to wake up. He was in charge of training Hitler Youth in 1937, in 1939 was commanding Hitler's personal guard/battalion, and since he was in command of different armies and panzer divisions throughout WW2, thousands of Allied soldiers died. So please, if you don't know what you are talking about, don't talk at all.

I actually really like this advert, but Sony was an idiot to do it because 99.9 percent of the population doesn't know who he is.

at least they didn't give blood to a damn filthy jew

...i hope people know this is a joke

Erwin Rommel also apposed Hitler's rule, never killed any Jewish soldiers captured under his command (even though Hitler ordered him to do so) and was linked to the plot on Hitler's life. If thinking that Rommel wasn't a bad guy and if that makes me a Nazi sympathizer sign me up. I also have no belief in media outlets that try to make a controversy whilst smudging the facts to make your viewpoint more normalized. Anyone with a knowledge of Rommel would know that he wasn't a bad person, but you gloss over that, not giving the whole story and it's journalistically fraudulent.

I'm so over the whole Nazi thing. It's so tired and old. I'm also way sick of hearing about the holocaust, as if its the only time in history a bunch of people have been killed.

don't wanna hear anymore about it, unless of course you are the movie INGLORIOUS BASTERDS.

"is that really a new Sony ad? I thought they got rid of the Spider Man font?"

That's a good point Primo.

"Jesus Christ."

Don't say that, you'll give them ideas for the next one.

@bmart008:
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.

ugh,

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.

The Desert Fox? History says he wasn't a bastard. Pfft. I'm more disturbed by the freakish nurse holding the pan o_0

FAIL. Teh Nazi iz ded. The gam3r is alive! The article is a lie! (so is the cake.)

Wait... all I have to do is find an obscure picture and label it a (insert console maker here) ad. And then it must be so because I read it on the internet?

The Nazis actually need to catch a break. At least there have been psychological tests that prove that they had an authoritarian gun to their head. Take the Japanese on the other hand, they would tell you that they did the horrible acts, enjoyed it, and would do it again right now. I would label this article as sensational journalism. What if the general Chilean public IS familiar with Rommel? Tasteless.

Actually, Sony's marketting department is just plain stupid. There's no brilliance about it in any way, and I think that even people with no marketting experience whatsoever would be more successful in increasing product purchases than Sony.

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.

I’m from Chile, the ad is from BBDO CHILE…and yes the ad suck balls…is most likely a fake for ad festivals.

It was created by lazy creative’s that didn’t think about consequences.

This wasn't made by Sony. A factor everyone keeps overlooking, this was an ad done by an advertising agency called BBDO. So yeah, if you're gonna blame someone, blame them. Judging by the It Only DOes everything ads, Sonys advertising department is now the best one for them.

@Czech Monster
While most of what you said in your post about Rommel is true, I still think that he should be held in high regard as one of the best and most courageous Generals of the war.

Simply dismissing and condemning him on behalf of the faction he was born into, is nothing but another form of ignorance - Rommel was a superb German officer and soldier long before there ever was a Nazi Regime, and would have remained one for long afterward, if fate had allowed him to survive the war. He was a warrior, not a politician.
German officers of his generation were still taught by the old Prussian school of unconditional loyalty - something that seems to be quite alien to many of the modern generations.

Also, I believe he should be held in high regard for his bravery to repeatedly disobey direct orders from Hitler himself (mostly those of racist and genocidal origin) - there were only few German generals who had the heart to do so, and they should be held in high regard for this.

You demonize him based on his allegiance, not on his person.

"Nazi Sympathizer"

Just another couple loaded words.

I don't think this is a place to have a discussion on the truth behind history through the lens of contemporary pop culture. What I will say, based on some formal education in design and advertising, is that the vast majority of the target audience will not understand this ad, and are more likely to misunderstand it.

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.