Sunday, December 13, 2009

Sony Bravia HDTV commercial is "on fiah"!

I absolutely love the Sony Bravia commercial with Peyton Manning and Justin Timberlake playing ping pong.

With all of that action and the star power of Peyton Manning and Justin Timberlake, you’d think the message would be lost, or worse, seem like a distraction. Perhaps, save for a simple script that is flawlessly executed. Equally crucial to the commercial’s success is the impeccable visual balance of the set. It allows the viewer to look at Erin Andrews as she speaks and still see the point that is being articulated - and played. The video editing is also superb. Kudos to the advertising agency.

It’s a typical situation: an HDTV shopper looking at all of the flat screens expresses a common consumer frustration “These all seem the same.” What happens next is preposterous. The display wall slides open to reveal Manning and Timberlake playing an incredible ping pong point. Seated on the far side of the table are Tom, the cameraman, and Erin Andrews. Both are seemingly oblivious and unimpressed with the paddle action in front of them. Manning responds to the consumer “They’re not” as he rhythmically hops and smacks the ball back to his opponent. Andrews explains that you can’t fake Sony quality which makes watching sports in HD even better. Musician-and-actor-turned-budding-sports-star Timberlake exclaims that the more you watch sports on a Sony the better you get at sports.

Really?

It appears so because Timberlake gets the best of Super Bowl champion quarterback Manning with a slam for a winner. What follows next is comic brilliance.

You have to hand it to Sony, allowing so much of their commercial to be about the entertainment experience. Isn’t that precisely the point when watching programs on HDTV?

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