The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2005–2007
Sony Bravia 'Balls': 250,000 bouncy balls roll down San Francisco to sell color
Fallon lets 250,000 bouncy balls cascade through San Francisco for Bravia's 'Colour Like No Other' — the film that made Sony LCD TVs a market leader.
Sony (Sony Europe)
What it had to solve
Sony Europe was launching Bravia, its new LCD TV brand, into a crowded market where it was an also-ran. The one-page script simply said: go to San Francisco and let brightly colored balls loose down the steep hills — title, 'Colour Like No Other.'
How it works
In October 2005 Sony Europe launched Bravia, its new LCD TV brand, with an ad that had no dialogue, no product close-ups and a one-line script: let brightly colored balls loose down the steep hills of San Francisco, titled 'Colour Like No Other.'
Fallon London's Juan Cabral and Richard Flintham executed the idea with director Nicolai Fuglsig: a quarter of a million bouncy balls cascaded down a San Francisco street, filmed over three days by a 23-person camera crew in body armor, with effects by The Mill. The film simply let the color happen, set to José González's cover of 'Heartbeats.'
Campaign named Fallon its 2006 Advertising Agency of the Year and wrote that 'Balls' and its follow-up 'Paint' took Sony's LCD TVs from also-rans to market leaders in under two years, adding that 'Balls' became the most-viewed ad on YouTube of its era. It also won a Gold Lion at Cannes 2006.
The spot is still cited two decades later as one of the most influential ads ever made — a piece of pure spectacle that turned a product launch into culture, before 'viral' was a marketing strategy.
Why it lands
- It turned a subjective claim — better color — into one undeniable physical image anyone can read in a second.
- It made the commercial itself the content: a film people sought out and shared before viral marketing had a name.
- The restraint — no product talk, no spec sheets — made it feel like art rather than advertising.
- The campaign's consistency across 'Balls' and 'Paint' built Bravia's identity quickly enough to change Sony's market position.
What it did
Campaign reported the work took Sony's LCD TVs from also-rans to market leaders within two years, made 'Balls' the most-viewed ad on YouTube of its era, and won a Cannes Gold Lion in 2006.
What you can take
When the product claim is a feeling like color, prove it with one real, unmissable spectacle — no dialogue, no spec lists — and let the film travel by itself.
Since then
Sony followed 'Balls' with 'Paint' in October 2006, directed by Jonathan Glazer, keeping the same 'Colour Like No Other' idea. Campaign credited the pair of films with making Sony's LCD TVs market leaders within two years and gave Fallon its 2006 Agency of the Year award; the original spot remains one of the most celebrated and most copied advertising films of the 2000s.
Sources
- My Most Immortal Ad: Emma Robbins on Sony 'Balls'
- Advertising agency of the year - Fallon
- Music In Advertising: All About The Money?
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