The recent PlayStation 4 reveal was an undeniably big deal, as an ad linking to the announcement trumped a number of Super Bowl ads to take the crown of YouTube’s most-watched ad for February.
Last month Sony unveiled the long-awaited PlayStation 4. The event was inevitable, yet the media covered it with the kind of breathless anticipation you’d normally only find in the back of a Honda Civic after prom. Not that it wasn’t warranted; The announcement was an inarguably massive event, and even ad spots for the announcement were huge hits.
To wit: Google recently released its list of the top YouTube ads screened on the streaming video service during the month of February. You’ll find a list of familiar brands occupying the list, including Jeep, Pepsi, and Dodge, and that makes perfect sense. After all, the majority of these ads debuted during the Super Bowl, which as all fans of things other than football will remind you, is the biggest advertising event of the year. Of course these videos would populate YouTube’s most popular ads list.
Unexpectedly though, they were all trumped by the aforementioned PlayStation 4 ad spot.
The ad in question is embedded above, and during its nearly two minute run time it effectively demonstrates all the neat graphical tricks that Sony focused on in its press conference. It gives no new information on the PlayStation 4, nor does it shed further insight on why and how this console might change the face of gaming. Despite this, the ad was viewed over 26.2 million times during the month of February. For comparison, its closest competition, an ad for Samsung’s mobile products starring Seth Rogen and the dreamy Paul Rudd only pulled in 21.3 million views.
What does this mean for you, Mr. or Mrs. Average Consumer? Not much. It proves that anticipation for the PlayStation 4 (and the next generation of console gaming in general) is pretty intense, and we’re sure Sony’s PR folk will be receiving some nice bonuses based on their achievement, but unless you enjoy watching that ad on loop this news probably won’t change your life. Still, it’s interesting to see a video which could easily be representative of gaming as a whole beating out Super Bowl ads for the most American of products like oversized SUVs and carbonated sugar water. We love our sugar water, so this is no small feat.
Source: Google
