‘A radical vision’: How Sony Bravia’s dazzling ‘Balls’ ad changed the game
A logistical nightmare but a creative triumph, the ad turned around the fortunes of a troubled multinational and launched the career of one of the industry’s leading talents.
In 2005 Sony’s electronics division wasn’t having a great time. Badly caught out by the launch of Apple’s iPod and with share prices taking a dramatic nosedive, the Japanese multinational was keen to go big on its Bravia televisions (short for ‘Best Resolution Audio Video Integrated Architecture’) and showcase the possibilities of high-definition LCD technology.
David Patton had just transferred over to Sony Electronics from his role as vice-president of marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, where he’d been enjoying great success with PlayStation.
“I was bought in to freshen up the brand,” he explains. “The big step change in everything we did was really about repositioning Sony as an entertainment brand rather than being a slightly dull electronics hardware company.”
It meant Patton working with a new agency, Fallon, and its creative partner Juan Cabral, a young Argentine who had been signed up a couple of years prior after some impressive work at Mother London.
