NEW SONY ADVERT COVERS MIAMI IN FOAM

Sony unites digital imaging through High Definition

Following on from the hugely successful BRAVIA trilogy, Sony turns its attention to its award winning Digital Imaging range with a stunning new 90-second advert launching exclusively on TV in the UK on 1st May 2008.

The new ‘Foam City’ advertising campaign brings together Sony’s three Digital Imaging brands, Handycam, Cyber-shot and new DSLR brand, a, for the very first time to communicate the exceptional image quality offered through high definition technology.

‘Foam City’, developed by renowned advertising agency, Fallon London, utilises the same creative team behind the popular series of BRAVIA adverts – the ‘Balls’, ‘Paint’ and ‘Play-Doh’ trilogy. Directed by Simon Ratigan, the shoot involved the Downtown area of Miami being transformed into a foam-filled wonderland – with whole streets full of bubbles. The world’s largest foam machine was built especially for the advert, with over two million litres of foam produced every minute. 

The ‘stars’ of the shoot were the genuine Miami citizens, who were invited by Sony to experience ‘Foam City’, where cameras caught their every reaction to their new surroundings – especially when scooters, bikes and even a truck were driven through the foam-filled streets!

The inhabitants of ‘Foam City’ were able to capture every single moment using Sony cameras.

“A lot of my work to date has focused on people’s honest experiences and emotions,” says Director Simon Ratigan. “Having the citizens of Miami involved, with their free spirited nature and willingness to interact with this new and exciting environment, without any guidance other than to go and explore, has been a wonderful experience. The final ad will show natural, real life emotions and reactions to a city full of foam.”

The music that features in ‘Foam City’ was specially composed by Warren Ellis, who scored the soundtrack to the blockbuster film, ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’.

The foam theme is being utilised across all of Sony’s digital imaging advertising and marketing activity including television, print, online and in-store point of sale. Additional product specific films, focusing on different technologies of the new ranges, will be appearing to support the main ‘Foam City’ advert. The a advert, for example, will focus on the challenge of capturing the perfect bubble.

 “We wanted this to be a magical event where people would be able to have a truly unique photographic experience, where they could actually take images like no other,” says Mikah Martin-Cruz, General Manager, Central Marketing, Sony UK. “A place where we could show just how our products are designed to capture real life moments as they happen, in perfect detail. With Foam City, we have created somewhere you just can’t put your camera down, even for a moment, as something totally unexpected and wonderful happens every second.”

Facts about the shoot:

·         World’s biggest foam machine - 2.8m in diameter

·         Used 460 million litres of foam

·         Professional bubble handler to create the perfect bubbles

·         200 Miami residents involved in the shoot

·         150 crew

·         16 hours of film to create a 90 second commercial

 

For more information about Sony’s three Digital Imaging brands, Handycam, Cyber-shot and the new DSLR brand, a visit www.sony.co.uk.


Credits:

Director: Simon Ratigan

DOP: Bob Pendar-Hughes

Editor: Bruce Townsend @ The Quarry

Advertising Agency: Fallon

Executive Creative Director: Richard Flintham

Agency Producer: Emma Gooding

Production Company: HLA

Production Company Producer: Mike Wells

Post Production Co: MPC

Post Production Producer: Vittorio Giannini, Justin Brukman

VFX Supervision: Tom Harding, Jim Radford

VFX Team: Marcus Wood, Suzanne Jandu, Alex Harding, Guiliano Cavali, Stephen Murphy, Robert Hesketh

Telecine: Mark Gethin