Sony BRAVIA

BRAVIA is a Sony brand used to market its high-definition LCD televisions, projection TVs and front projectors and for the PlayStation 3 (principal bravia intend), along with its home cinema range under the sub-brand BRAVIA Theatre.

The BRAVIA name is an acronym of "Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture".

All Sony high-definition flat-panel LCD televisions in North America have carried the BRAVIA logo since 2005. The name BRAVIA replaces the "LCD WEGA" brand name which Sony used for their LCD TVs until Summer 2005 (early promotional photos exist of the first BRAVIA TVs still bearing the WEGA moniker). The BRAVIA brand is also used on mobile phones in the Japanese market.

Ad Campaign

The BRAVIA brand uses the slogan "Color like.no.other."

Launch, 'Balls'

The launch of the BRAVIA brand was supported by an advertising campaign, with a commercial featuring 250,000 brightly-colored rubber balls (real, not computer-generated) bouncing down a San Francisco street.

The idea was brought to life by director Nicolai Fuglsig with the help of Los Angeles-based special effects guru Barry Conner. In addition to the 12 air mortars, Conner deployed three giant skips, each lifted 50 feet into the air and containing 35,000 colored bouncy balls.

The first shot required 50,000 balls to be sent cascading down a hill, colliding at a road junction with a further 50,000 that had been fired along a side street. A team of 50 interns was on hand to gather up the balls for the six takes it took over four days. Golf nets were erected at the sides of the street and every drain was blocked.

The idea was originally a segment of The Late Show with David Letterman in 1996, in which bouncy balls rolled down the same street. Fallon, the advertising agency involved with the commercial, denied ever having watched the episode and claimed the similarity was a coincidence.

The commercial is accompanied by the song Heartbeats, written by Swedish duo The Knife and performed by José González. The track became very popular on radio stations in the UK after it was released by Peacefrog Records and helped his debut album Veneer reach number 7 in the UK albums chart.

'Paint'

Following on from the original advert, Jonathan Glazer directed the second in which a condemned tower block in Toryglen in Glasgow, Scotland was covered in 70,000 litres of environmentally friendly paint with the help of over 1400 separate explosions featured as imitation fireworks, concluding with a simulated "reverse demolition" of the building. The accompanying soundtrack is 'She's a Rainbow' by the Rolling Stones. The commercial was filmed in New York City.

'Pyramid'

The latest advert, filmed in Egypt features thousands of coloured cotton reels tumbling down a pyramid.

India

Advertisement in India features thousands of square anthropomorphic pixels. A Kathakali dancer's green face turns into pixels which run away from him. He finds his face later in a Sony BRAVIA television.

Dominos

This advertising campaign was launched in October 2008. Shot on location in India’s states of Rajastan and Uttar Pradesh. The 60 second Dominos video takes viewers on a journey on a tumbling journey of color, from a magnificent fort in Jaisalmer through a desert all the way to the Taj Mahal in Agra. The music for the spot was created by Song Zu and Darker My Love's Rob Barbato.

Market Share

According to leading market research company GFK Nielsen India Private Limited, Sony Bravia has came forth as the market head in Flat Panel Display sales during May this year snapping up a market share of 32% by value. Sony had sold over 35 thousand units of Bravia during May 2010. This is more than the sum of the LCD and Plasma TV units sold by any of its main competitors in May in India. Digital major Sony has been capable of substantially raising its market share (by value) to 32% in May from 24.3% during January for the BRAVIA group in a short time period of just 3 months. The report showed comprehensive leadership of the company in the Flat Panel TV group. According to the review, Sony Bravia become the most sold LCD brand in the 22-inch, 32-inch and "40-inch and above" section. These three sections together contribute over 75% of all LCD TV units sold in the country.