Your Favorite PlayStation Characters Stage a Wild Real-World Invasion in New Global Ad

When Kratos from God of War crashes your A.M. ablutions, grants you a Leviathan Axe and bids you to follow him into a world of pulse-pounding adventure, it’s best not to overanalyze your next move.

Just grasp that mighty weapon and go forth! You’ll find time later on to wipe the shaving foam off your face and lose that comfy bathrobe. Probably.

Sony and adam&eveDDB stage a raucous incursion in the minute-long spot below, as Kratos and other PlayStation gaming characters invade the here and now for some loud, outlandish, effects-driven action:

If you want to get some reading done, the ultra-quiet library from that Georgetown Optician ad beats Sony’s, what with Final Fantasy’s Cloud Strife charging a Sweeper and all. Amid the sound and fury, you might also notice Crash Bandicoot, Palico, a Rathalos, the pitch-perfect stars of FIFA 20 and more.

Dubbed “It’s Time to Play,” the PS4 campaign targets casual gamers, and represents an evolution of the platform’s past themes.

In 2015, PlayStation’s Star Wars Battlefront trailer with Anna Kendrick mixed elements of George Lucas’ far-away universe with mundane everyday life, as regular folks vanished into gameplay, leaving their clothes, backpacks and other trivial items behind. Two years later, for Battlefront II, a young couple battled it out downtown as an AT-AT burst through walls with considerable sound and fury. (Though the fiery finale took place inside the game world.)

Now, Planet Earth in the present day becomes an overblown arena, with Crash Bandicoot zipping around the highway without getting so much as a speeding ticket, while Aloy, Nathan Drake and Deacon St. John engage in 21st century mayhem. 

“We are passionate about the joy fans feel from immersing themselves in these incredible stories that are brought to life through our games,” says Mary Yee, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s vp of global marketing. She calls the campaign “an invitation to all gamers, from some of our most beloved gaming IP, to join the world of PlayStation and experience the extraordinary power of play.”

Next time, maybe Crash can drive the Fortnite battle bus through a brick wall. Wicked aggro! Bruh, you got any heals? (Hey, we learned some chill lingo! Maybe video-games really are good for your brain after all.)

CREDITS

“It’s Time to Play”

Client: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Brand: PlayStation
Project/Campaign name: “It’s Time to Play”
SVP, Head of Global Marketing: Eric Lempel
Vice President, Marketing Mary Yee
Director, Brand Marketing Adam Grant
Sr. Manager, Brand Marketing Jayne Murphy

Creative Agency: adam&eveddb
Chief Creative Officer: Richard Brim 
Executive Creative Director/s: Ant Nelson, Mike Sutherland
Creative/s: Matt Fitch, Mark Lewis
Chief Production Officer: Anthony Falco
Agency producer/s: Panos Louca, Katie Heaselgrave, Lucy Trower
Chief Strategy Officer: Martin Beverley 
Planning Director: David Mortimer
CEO: Mat Goff
Managing Partner/s: Sarah Coleman
Account Director/s: Adam Patel, Tara Beckefeld
Account Manager/s: Casey Nguyen
Global Business Director: Sybille Chrissoveloni
Global Account Director: Hannah Montaln
Head of Design: Paul Knowles 
Senior Designer: Scott Silvey
Artworker: Chris Holiday
Retouching: Charlie Townsend

Media Agency: Mediacom
Production Company: Independent 
Executive Producer: Jani Guest
Producer: Amy Appleton
Director: Gary Freedman
UK Production Manager: Lucy Banks
D.O.P: Franz Lustig
Editing Company: The Playroom
Editor: Adam Spivey
Edit Assistant: Andre Rodrigues
Post Production: Moving Picture Company (MPC)
Post Producer: Philip Whalley
2D Lead Artist: Rod Norman                                 
3D Lead Artist: Jessie Amadio          
Colorist: Matthieu Toullet & Jean-Clement Soret

Audio Post Production: Factory
Sound Designer Dan Beckwith
Assistant Engineer James Utting
Soundtrack name and composer: I Predict A Riot – Kaiser Chiefs
Service Company: Radioaktive
Executive Producer: Alexandra Bevko
Producer: Ira Nepomenko
Project Manager: Nick Semko
Project Coordinator: Daniel Linnik-Zhuravlev               
1st AD Ukraine: Nadia Ludchik

CGI & Retouching: Happy Finish 
CGI: Simon Allan, Chris Gornall 
Matte Paint & Concept Artist Akrash Kummattummal
Retouching: Vahakn Vorperian, Alexis Goodwin
Producer: Frances Hood
Account Manager: Luke Heywood