21 thoughts on “Stay classy, Sony”

1. Does it look familiar? Yes. It’s supposed to. It’s not a rip-off, it’s a call-back.

   So, I’m not going to ding Sony for this.

   Especially as in the past, Apple’s had far more snarkier stuff directed at Microsoft. (Remember “C:NGRTLNS.W95”, when Windows 95 got released?)

2. Are they ripping off Apple or Samsung? Discuss.

3. I have no idea what that is supposed to look like. Microsoft products? They have a similar swirl in some of their office products.

4. Shawn, that’s fucking 20 years ago.

5. It looks exactly like the Apple invitation to today’s event, but that was the point. It’s a light hearted jab at Apple since they’re expected to announce an AppleTV with gaming capabilities today. It’s not a Samsung-esque rip-off of Apple IP, so I don’t really get Dave’s point.

6. Parody is not appropriate in the context of you are drowning and losing even a modicum of relevance. And you say “game on?”

   This is the Sony of the past decade. Clue-impaired. They need to promote some PS folks to the corporate office.

7. Other than proving your ability to do simple arithmetic, (and that I’m getting old), what’s your point?

   Mine was that I can appreciate ads with sarcastic congratulations to competitors. That appreciation doesn’t come with an expiration date.

   My point wasn’t that since Apple dished it out 20 years ago, they have to take it now.

8. Well I think that Sony didn’t need to rip-off the Apple event package this year and your attempt to justify it with a campaign from 20 years ago was a tad disingenuous to say the least.

   That wasn’t really a sarcastic ad, just riding on the back of something most people have seen in the last couple of weeks.

   “My point wasn’t that since Apple dished it out 20 years ago, they have to take it now.”

   The problem is that this is not what Sony have done. It’s closer to Samsung’s “let’s rip off what Apple are doing because that’s hip and trendy” I expect more from Sony than this.

9. The “rip-off” is necessary if your humor is a parody of something. The “rip-off” is signaling exactly what it is that they are responding to. Parody, by its nature, MUST “ride on the back” of something else.

   In that sense, it is not a Samsung-esque plagiarism. And traditionally considered fair use.

   This is not trying to ride on Apple’s coattails, but trying to step on them.

   The binary code, however makes the whole thing a bit confusing, if one hasn’t been told what it meant.

   BTW, I may have been too snarky towards you with that “simple arithmetic” line earlier. The use of the f-bomb in your initial reply made it feel less of a critique and more of a personal attack.

10. Gee Dave, ever hear of irony.

    This is a terrific ad.

11. Shawn, you’re spot on.

    Remember, OK Redmond, start your copiers.

    There’s only been one original idea in the world ever. Can’t remember it off hand though.

12. Sony is not ripping off Apple invitation. It’s a play on the rumor that Apple is entering the gaming console market. Today happens to be the 20th anniversary of the original Playstation 1 console going on sale.

13. No. Had it come from a company that had been offering a full line of genuinely interesting products for the past ten years, it might be a cute thing to do. Considering the source, however, it’s nowhere near “terrific.”

    Sony has become just another Dell.

14. Sony has had a million issues the past decade, but the PS4 is a superb device. There is a reason they’ve already sold 25 million of them. It’s the first Sonly product I’ve purchased in about 8 years. They are absolutely in a position to challenge Apple on television gaming devices.

15. Perhaps. But how much of Sony’s current product line does the Playstation take up?

16. Oh, I have no idea. They still make a nice, if overpriced TV in the XBR. But they didn’t challenge Apple on anything except games on the television. That’s one area from which Sony has a pretty strong position. And, as challenges go, it was very mild and in good humor.

17. It’s not parody.

    And you really think that Sony held on for 20 years just to sneak this one in?

    Let’s be realistic. 20 years ago was 2 years before Steve Jobs returned and the current company has absolutely nothing to do with the company run by the sugar water salesman and his bean counter cronies.

    The Apple of today has nothing to do with the Apple of 1995.

18. 1. I never said this was a “reply” to the 20 years ago ad. I only mentioned it as an example of a sarcastic congratulations ad.

    Further that ad was pointed at Microsoft, not Sony, so there’s no way this COULD be a reply from Sony.

    1. Yes, it is a parody. It isn’t a good parody, but it is one.

    It wasn’t meant to fool people into thinking it was the original. It wasn’t representing itself as something completely original. It was mocking the original.

    1. “The Apple of today has nothing to do with the Apple of 1995.” Never said it did. I guess my digression made you think that I was citing it as justifying Sony’s swipe at Apple. That wasn’t my intent.

19. Again, perhaps. But there’s also a temptation to cut them slack because they’re Sony, which now means a lot less than it used to.

    Imagine a Microsoft whose only selling product was the Xbox.

20. Actually, I don’t care whether the Sony ad’s a ripoff. I’m just happy to see that this post’s headline has a comma in it. 😉

21. Actually Sony are outperforming a lot of brands.

    Their Alpha Cameras dominate Mirrorless Category and the A7RMKII is an incredible camera as is the RX100 which is the best still shot camera period.

    They have top 3% Marketshare in Headphones believe it or not!

    And their TVs IMO still have the best design and PQ much better than the Koreans with better quality as well.

    So thats Playstation, Cameras, TV and Headphones.