Awarded by Cannes, D&AD, The One Show, Clios, AICP, Communication Arts, and Best of Show at the National Addys, “To Michael” was the opus of our six-year PlayStation relationship. It repositioned PlayStation as a gamers-first brand to pave the way for the 4th generation of PlayStation.

This case study recaps the entire "Long Live Play" campaign from using our spokesguy Kevin Butler to introduce the tag line, to our blockbuster "To Michael" spot, to the the Hall of Play on facebook. Scroll down to see each piece in detail.

TEASER: PlayStation spokesman Kevin Butler announces on Twitter that he is quitting PlayStation for a career in flooring. The internet blows up with articles asking if this is the end of Kevin Butler.

INTRODUCTION: But whole thing was a ruse to set up this video, which we released on PlayStation’s Youtube channel three days later.

ENGAGEMENT: Once again, the internet lit up with articles about Kevin Butler's return and the new line LONG LIVE PLAY. 

BRAND FILM: The stage was set for us to launch our first Long Live Play spot: an epic tribute to PlayStation gamers everywhere.

"To Michael" had more than 5x the views of any previous PlayStation video, ever. The internet exploded with praise for "To Michael" and PlayStation.

We created ad digital ecosystem around the film with ads letting gamers upload their name and photo to get a shareable 1:00 version of the "Michael" spot starring you, e.g. “TO WILL!”

Leading in to the holidays we opened the Hall of Play on PlayStation's facebook page. Fans could meet others in the Hall, get excuses to play more, and post their own personalized version of “To Michael” on their Facebook wall.

We selected real gamers from the Hall of Players and Kevin Butler told their stories, one per day, during the month leading up to black Friday.