Key facts
| Brand | Sony (Bravia LCD TVs) |
| Year | 2005 (UK launch in November) |
| Agency | Fallon London |
| Director | Nicolai Fuglsig |
| Location | San Francisco, four days of shooting |
| Balls | 250,000, no CGI (according to reports) |
What is it about and how was it made?
Hundreds of thousands of colourful rubber balls bounce down a street in San Francisco. The spot was meant to show the colour quality of Bravia TVs. According to reports about 250,000 balls were used, without CGI. A large part of the budget went into cannons that fired the balls high so they bounced instead of rolling.
Filming took four days. The crew first needed permission from the city and its residents. Reports mention broken windows and dented cars.
In the UK the spot aired in November as a two-and-a-half-minute “roadblock” across the entire commercial break before the Chelsea versus Manchester United match on Sky Sports One.
Read the numbers with care
A production budget of about one million US dollars is cited. Fallon’s case study claims that during the campaign period Bravia reached number one in the LCD TV market by volume and value. That is the agency’s claim. Sources differ slightly on the music and the number of cannons.
What brands can take away (our interpretation)
- Real craft beats effects: the spot works because the spectacle really happened.
- A product promise (colour) becomes an experience without explaining the product.
- A roadblock in a commercial break can turn a spot into an event.
Planning your own spot? The TV spot production guide explains the process, the agency brief template helps with the commission.
Sources
- The Drum: World’s best ads ever #42, Sony Bravia
- PetaPixel: 250,000 bouncy balls through San Francisco
- shots: The Sony spot that got you by the balls
This article only states facts we can substantiate from the sources linked below. The section “What brands can take away” is our own interpretation.