Sony opens imaginary hotel for PS3 launch

by Joanne Payne, Brand Republic 08-Mar-07, 14:55

LONDON - Sony will tomorrow unveil the start of a unique campaign for the launch of PlayStation3 in the UK. Set inside a mysterious hotel, it features more than 40 pieces of creative content inviting the audience into a strange world, home to the likes of characters called Bubba and Plato.

The campaign, "This is living", involves a multi-character drama where all characters reside in a mysterious hotel. Sony and TBWA\London have taken great care to make each character as individual and intriguing as the next. Through the ads we meet: Bubba, the public face of the hotel who meets and greets patrons; Plato, a world famous football striker; and quiz show legend Bruce Leghorn.

A 60-second teaser trailer will launch in UK cinemas tomorrow, driving the audience to the interactive site where they can "check in" to the hotel themselves by registering on the site. This will also allow those registered to receive alerts up until the launch date of March 23.

Adding a twist to the campaign, Sony will invite the audience to find clues relating to the characters and the hotel. To do this, they will show clips of characters in other media, for example avatars of characters existing in 'Second Life' or on Flickr.

The first branded trailer will air on video-on-demand pre-rolls on 4oD and Sky as 30-second and 60-second edits. The campaign will air on terrestrial TV on March 16 and introduce the hotel and characters.

On launch date, the website will officially open and the rooms and the characters can be explored. The site is designed for visitors to upload their own content and interconnect the audience. A 60-second branded film, "grenade", will also launch on cinema, TV, online and pre-rolls.

The campaign will to continue with "underbelly" breaking on TV and in cinemas, while character films on TV help the audience put together the pieces of the drama unfolding before them. A print campaign in monthly magazines will also run to tell the characters' back stories.

There will be a final ad, "meltdown", which will be released in three stages. Firstly, a 60-second TV and cinema spot, then a three-minute version will be available on the website. Finally, the full six-minute film and full character films will feature as DVD covermounts on various lifestyle magazines before being made available on the web and in cinemas.

Tony McTear, creative director of TBWA\London, said: "We sought to create something new and innovative that is both relevant to the product and our audience of entertainment enthusiasts who spend their time downloading entertainment, building playlists, blogging and networking online.

"This is a totally new audience to any previous launch. It's an audience that expect and demand interactive and challenging entertainment. 'This is living' is a truly big idea that delivers across multiple channels as well as multiple countries."

At launch the PS3, which will cost £425 in the UK, will include games such as 'Call of Duty 3', 'Ridge Racer 7' and 'Virtua Fighter 5'.