Ad Analysis: Bravia LCD TV - Sony (2006)

Mentoring media students requires in depth analysis of movie scenes, covers, posters and adverts and I usually have to be reminded not to complete the analysis myself! So I'll channel this into my blog starting with the memorable advert marketing Sony's Bravia TV.

It is an iconic advert that stays with you well after it’s not on TV anymore, simply because of the simplicity of the adverts’ visuals. There is something satisfying about falling objects, something about physics; objects shedding energy to be at a resting state by giving in to gravity (Thanks Brian Cox, Wonders of the Solar System!) Much like how slinkies are delightful to watch springing down a flight of stairs, this is an industrial level slinky, thousands and thousands of coloured balls bouncing through the undulating hills of sunny San Francisco.

Another idea that makes this advert appealing is the “is it real or CGI?” that surrounds high definition TV, it’s the ultimate deception that the audience appreciates, asking whether it is real or not. If real, how impressive, they got that! If not, how impressive, the CGI is great!

Collectively it looks like confetti or a flock of butterflies swarming in front of the backgrounds that almost become the focus of the foreground, houses, water pipes, parked cars. It is visually aesthetic, lots of one thing, brightly coloured, appeals to some part of the brain where sheer overwhelming numbers make you happy, much like collections of many of one thing.

The music is acoustic and calm and could be seen as the opposite of the frenetic energy of the bouncing balls; however it lends the piece a calming tone. The ending statement “Like no other” is hyperbolic and brave, a statement that tops all else, Sony is able to dismiss all competition with confidence.