Advertising

Sony’s received a slap on the wrists from Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority. The reprimand is due to a “misleading” Gran Turismo Sport ad that aired around the game’s launch late last year.

We’ve seen some examples of GT Sport marketing in the UK, North America, and now it’s Japan’s turn. PlayStation Japan’s YouTube has some TV shorts that will air in the region and they’re pretty bonkers.

With the release of Gran Turismo Sport just days away, the marketing for the game is in full force. Everywhere we look we see ads spring up — but, that might just be because we spend all our time looking at sim racing content. One recent ad in particular struck us right in the nostalgia center.

Remember gaming magazines? Of course you do: unlike floppy disks or cassette tapes, you can still find them new on store shelves. But remember the golden age of magazines? When a 56k modem would beep-static-boop its way to a Geocities page of cheats in an eternity, magazines just made more sense.

http://vimeo.com/117585188

Last week, I mentioned Sony’s support of Team Peugeot Sport in the pending 24 Hours of Le Mans 2010 race, and that news has turned out to be even more promising than it first seemed. Why? It appears Sony is no longer just promoting the “Gran Turismo” brand, but now they’re getting specific with a big, bold Gran Turismo 5 logo on the car and on banners around the circuit. This is a change from just last month at the 24-hour Nurburgring race, where all the cars were sporting generic GT sponsorship.

Since we first learned that the company’s new SLS-AMG would grace GT5‘s cover, the company has been increasingly open about their affiliation with the game. First it was the showcased GT5 demo at their headquarter’s museum and dealers across Europe, but now they’re expanding use of the game as they integrate it with their international marketing efforts, as seen in Mercedes’ new Facebook game “Behind the Speed”. This simple game comes with a lucrative prize: a free copy of Gran Turismo 5 and your very own VisionRacer VR3 driving rig.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39omSixAX3s