Those who have walked through Madrid’s Puerta del Sol in recent days will have observed the presence of a spaceship at the Cercanías exit. The installation is part of the new PlayStation advertising campaign, with which the brand seeks to make the magic that takes place when the game transcends the screen and controls, and becomes an authentic experience.

PlayStation wants to highlight the unexpected moments that players are experiencing with PS5, the brand’s latest game console. The strategy is built around the idea that the impossible happens on PS5 and pays tribute to the excitement, discovery and stories that players have experienced and shared over the five years since the game console was launched.

PlayStation transmedia storytelling

The campaign, titled “The ship that crashed in Sol”, has been worked on together with the creative agency CLV and in collaboration with the production company Cabal Esports Productions. It is made up of a series of activations in various formats that explore how the extraordinary can break into the everyday. The different executions have been designed to connect the digital universe of PlayStation with tangible experiences, and thus invite players to discover or continue enjoying PS5.

One of these activations is the installation carried out in the center of the capital, with the transformation of the Cercanías station into a spaceship that has crashed, as if it had just emerged from one of the captivating stories of the video games that can be played on the console.

The intervention has completely changed the appearance of the space, both inside and out, and has led to the start of transmedia storytelling around the emotion of video games. The installation will remain visible throughout the month of November with the intention of surprising passersby and followers of the brand.
The production of the ship has been carried out by Global, Wild Pony and We Are CP.

The causes of the accident associated with the facility were revealed days later in a short film starring content creator TheGrefg and featuring El Xokas and Ampeter. For more than twelve minutes, the brand combines humor and science fiction, to convey the intensity of the experience provided by the PlayStation 5.

In the piece TheGrefg embarks on a journey to collect fantastic objects and save the world from incursions from the video game universe, including aliens and samurai. The adventure, in a comical twist of the script, concludes with a simple accident resulting from a lack of driving knowledge, hence the presence of the ship in Puerta del Sol.

The campaign, which has media planning from Mediacom, includes social media pieces, which expand the campaign narrative. Some of them have been part of “Conexión Play”, the weekly program that the brand offers on Twitch dedicated to video games.

In addition, PlayStation has created a space in El Corte Inglés in Callao (Madrid), where users can try some of the latest video games, such as “Ghost of Yōtei”, “Astro Bot” or “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2”. Objects used in the filming of the short film are also on display, you can take photographs in a themed photo booth or get gifts with the purchase of products.

“This happens on PS5”, the global PlayStation campaign

“The Ship That Crashed in Sol” is a local creative concept based on the global PlayStation campaign “This Happens on PS5”, launched in honor of the fifth anniversary of the PS5 console. The unexpected and unforgettable experiences offered by video game entertainment inspire the proposal created by the agency adam&eveDDB for Sony Interactive Entertainment, the company behind PlayStation.

The goal is to continue to excite the global gaming community and generate wonder and excitement among those who don’t play PlayStation, showing them what they are missing. “Our goal with this campaign is to spark joy and enthusiasm in the community and capture the emotions they feel when experiencing these unforgettable moments on PS5“, they point out from the brand in a statement. “There are so many exciting ways to experience the unexpected, thanks to one of the best game libraries available.”.

The campaign has three different audiovisual pieces that show shocking and amazing moments that can only be experienced at the controls of a PlayStation 5. Among them, a truck that lands on a skyscraper, escaping from a monstrous creature, or the forced landing of a ship.

“This happens on PS5” has been launched ahead of the shopping season and is activated in more than 20 markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, France, Spain, Canada and Australia. It will have executions on television, cinema, outdoor advertising, digital platforms and social networks. Other markets will also have customized local activations designed to generate buzz and attention at a regional level, as proposed by VCL.