Early in the PlayStation 3's life on store shelves, Sony decided the best way to market the $499-and-up machine was through crying baby dolls and sterile white rooms, ads that shockingly came off as "arrogant." Thank goodness we're past that.
PlayStation Senior VP Peter Dille says that "whole positioning was a bit intimidating to people," according to a report from IGN. "Our research also showed that Sony could be perceived as arrogant," he adds, noting that the new Kevin Butler-starring ads—and a series of price cuts, natch—featuring the fake exec are working to turn things around. I'd say he's right, considering that thousands of PlayStation devotees are lobbying for Butler to present during the company's E3 showing.
"The arrogance I think has gone away," Dille said at last week's MI6 marketing conference. "We kind of gotten back to our mojo with the sense of humor that people came to know and love with early PlayStation advertising."
Agreed. If Sony doesn't milk this whole Kevin Butler thing for all its worth, we'll be horribly disappointed.