Sometimes, choosing the perfect song to set the mood can elevate a spot from good to great. That’s the case with BBH NY’s choice of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day” in the latest ad that’s part of the ongoing “Greatness Awaits’ campaign for Playstation 4 (Sony also launched a new site to accompany the campaign here).
The song works as the perfect backdrop to the spot, conveying the feeling of a perfect day battling friends in a variety of games. Lou Reed’s classic song’s somber undertones fit perfectly with the onscreen mayhem, while the lyrics suggest that a day of slaughtering each other onscreen can in fact be a perfect day. I would have appreciated hearing the original version of the song, rather than having the actors in the spot sing it, but I guess BBH NY has decided it better underscores the theme of the effort to have the actors speaking the words directly. At any rate, the song choice is admirable and really makes the spot, which also does a pretty good job conveying the possibilities of the system without including any actual gameplay footage. It feels like a big step up from the earlier PS4 work, a more fully-realized conceptualization of the idea behind the campaign. Hopefully, the next time we see an ad for the system though, it will include some gameplay.
If you didn’t already really want a PS4 (you did) you do now. Or at least when it hits shelves Nov. 15. Credits after the jump.
Chief Creative Officer: John Patroulis
Executive Creative Director: Ari Weiss
Interactive Creative Director: Tim Nolan
CD/Creative: Gerard Caputo
CD/Creative: Chris Maiorino
Lead Senior Producer: Jennifer Moore Bell
Senior Producer: Kate Morrison
Head of Integrated Production: Justin Booth-Clibborn
Head of Account Management: Armando Turco
Account Director: Melissa Hill
Account Executive: Jon Moll
Senior Broadcast Business Manager: Sean McGee
CW: Ian Hart
AD: Dave Brown
Visual Designer: Rahim Masunu
UX Designer: Kelly Bignell
Lead Producer: Martin Mlekicki
Digital Producer: Victoria Fishel
Chief Strategy Officer: Sarah Watson
Strategist: Kendra Salvatore
Strategist: Angela Sun
Head of Comms Planning: Julian Cole
Comms Planner: Ben Zoll
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Matthijs Van Heijningen
Director of Photography: Joost Van Gelder
Executive Producer: Scott Howard
Producer: Donald Taylor
Production Designer: Robin Brown
Production Partner: HAUS
Rasmus Blaesbjerg – Creative Director
Dino Petrone – Technology Lead
Claudine Nichols – Senior Producer
Tracey McAvoy – Digital Producer
Editorial: Union Edit NY
Executive Producer: Caryn Maclean
Senior Producer: Sara Mills
Editor: Jono Griffith
Assistant Editor: Megan Swados
VFX & Finishing: The Mill NY
Exec Producer: Sean Costelloe
Senior Producers: Charlotte Arnold, Will Mok
Assistant Producer: Juan Handal
Colour Producer: Heath Raymond
Shoot Supervisor: Gavin Wellsman, Joji Tsuruga
Colourist: Fergus McCall
Music: Lou Reed
Additional Music Arrangement: Human
Sound Design: Human
Mix: Sound Lounge
Mixer: Tom Jucarone