Sony celebrates Walkman's 25th anniversary with new range

by Darren Davidson, Brand Republic 04-Oct-07, 14:45

LONDON - Sony is backing its next generation of digital media players with a heavyweight marketing campaign to coincide with the Walkman brand's 25th anniversary.

The integrated campaign, created by Fallon London, will include a TV spot, print advertising and online activity. The TV ad is being shot this week and is scheduled to break before the end of the month.

The new range will also be supported by PR activity and an event pairing recent breakthrough UK hip-hop artist, Dizzee Rascal, with 80s' rap pioneers, The Sugar Hill Gang. Sony has also struck partnerships with Vice magazine and Xfm.

The new range of digital media players support the Windows Media standard for the first time in a Sony Walkman product.

Will Currie, product manager for Walkman at Sony Consumer Electronics UK, said: "As the pioneer of portable music players, we are delighted to introduce the next generation of Sony digital media players. The products are serious competitors to our rivals and will help us achieve an even stronger position in the digital music market.

"The Sugar Hill Gang and Dizzee Rascal have perfect synergy with our new range of products, as both artists have pushed the boundaries of music and are synonymous with creativity and innovation."

The new digital media players can download movie trailers, music videos, podcasts and clips from the internet.