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The 2005 Sony Bravia ad
- yazantapuz 2y agoI had a Bravia 40BX425 (latam model) for several years. I bought it used and after many years I had to sell (needed the money). An astounding TV, much better than some of the new smart cr*p out there.
- bananicorn 2y agoThe video in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spB4ezsQ6II https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spB4ezsQ6II
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- diggan 2y agoAbsolute travesty to view that video via YouTube though, as the compression destroys the frames when there are hundreds of colorful balls in view. Anyone know of an alternative source, ideally without the typical internet-friendly/heavy compression?
- tantalor 2y agoHere's a 4k "remaster" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UXS6DBD6g0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UXS6DBD6g0
- bredren 2y agoTagging onto this, curious if anyone has preferred AI-based 1080 -> 4k+ upscale workflows.
- diggan 2y agoThe problem is not "1080p vs 4K on YouTube" but using YouTube at all for quality video. It's always been bad on YouTube, but videos like this make it extra obvious. For example, this shot: https://i.imgur.com/NRT0AOW.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/NRT0AOW.jpeg even in 4K it looks horrible, because of the compression YouTube does even to 4K. I've tried finding some better version (not on YouTube) but been unable to, maybe it is lost to the passage of time.
- jsheard 2y agoThe description of that higher quality upload says they sourced it from a retail demo disk, that's probably the best quality version in the wild. Maybe there's a direct rip of that disk on archive.org somewhere? Otherwise someone could ask them to upload their copy if they still have it.
- p1mrx 2y agoBlu-ray was just getting started in 2005, and Bravia TVs were 1366x768[1], so the demo disk is likely a DVD. I think someone would have to persuade Sony to remaster their original film, or release it to an archivist. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sony_Bravia_televisions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sony_Bravia_television...
- diggan 2y ago> that's probably the best quality version in the wild Probably not, would be my guess. Uploading the very same source video to somewhere else than YouTube (and ideally a place that doesn't do heavy compression at all) would lead to an higher quality version easily, someone somewhere must have done just that.
- jsheard 2y agoThat's what I meant, that the source video for that YouTube upload is probably the best version out there, as you say the second-hand re-encoded version served by YouTube is inferior. I didn't word that clearly, sorry.
- whycome 2y agoTry pulling different codec versions from YouTube? Maybe it got upped to Vimeo or something before? Also YouTube got rid of some resolution options a couple years back and that kinda adds to the problem of compression-rot of sorts.
- keane 2y agoThere's a 2010 copy taken from iTV on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/14504562 https://vimeo.com/14504562 Similar but slightly larger file from henry.tv at https://vimeo.com/293364002 https://vimeo.com/293364002 The high-quality extended version Sony originally published at bravia-advert.com/includes/vid/bravia_150_sec_high.mov was 700x394 apparently.
- frereubu 2y agoSomething's a bit wrong with the colour on that though - it looks really oversaturated.
- whycome 2y agoThe high contrast edges of foliage breaks it too. It seems like a release from the original source would be very doable. And maybe other versions exist if it was considered for (and won) various awards. And the initial Sky broadcast may have been high quality too?
- dredmorbius 2y agoThe same problem with confetti and snow in videos, due to compression: <https://tensorpix.ai/blog/video-compression-snow-confetti https://tensorpix.ai/blog/video-compression-snow-confetti> Video compression functions best where little of the shot changes frame-to-frame. This is also why rapid-cut video performs poorly online.
- Synaesthesia 2y agoI watched it, it's not so bad. Anyway, it's not like TV doesn't use compression, and back then it was more primitive MPEG-2.
- ginko 2y agoThis was a commercial produced for European television in 2005. Barely anyone even had an HDTV back then. I certainly saw it in standard definition when it aired.
- Duanemclemore 2y agoI hadn't thought about this in years. It was absolutely dazzling to see at the time, I can't imagine what it was like in person. In retrospect I would also probably chalk this up as the first truly "internet" moment.
- zusammen 2y agoI was in San Francisco that week. Ecological issues aside, it was the last time San Francisco felt different in a good way rather than a bad one. The “negative energy” is now too much for me and, when I travel to the Bay Area, I pretty much just stay on-track. I wonder if people who lived in San Francisco from 1965-2005 expected it to last forever.
- realityfactchex 2y agoWhat city regions have better energy, are good economically, and have natural beauty (ocean, mountain, plants)? It is easy to find faults with the SF bay area (politics, costs, and derivative issues), but is somewhere actually better? EDIT: Thanks for the downvotes. It was an honest question, and I badly wanted to be informed, having given the issue in-depth consideration over the years. I wasn't being snarky.
- wrs 2y agoSeattle has those things, IMO. (You didn’t mention weather!)
- drewcoo 2y agoSeattle weather keeps strangers away. And drives sunglasses sales.
- testfrequency 2y agoYou’re conveniently leaving out how pretentious and insufferable many Seattleites are… It has been far and wide the least welcoming, interesting, and lackluster food city I’ve ever lived in. Also, the coffee scene there is worse than SF, Chicago, LA..rare stop for bands and musicians touring, and unpleasant transit. The only people I know who are genuinely happy there are people who moved from Florida, and wealthy white families with young children who moved there (from California) “because taxes and better education”. Don’t even get me started on the lack of diversity and casual racism. SF is far from perfect, but Seattle isn’t even in the conversation for places I’d ever recommend someone leaving SF to shortlist.
- nsxwolf 2y agoHow did this ever get through committee?
- basisword 2y agoIt's such a memorable ad. It's like the dream of a child actually brought to life. I've seen this story discussed around the internet over the last few days and found it interesting how younger generations seemed to only view it negatively (pollution, excess, etc). It's quite sad that something that seems like it could be universally enjoyed at the isn't now.
- pjc50 2y agoGeneral thing of the internet, really. We've all become used to being rewarded for negativity and critique.
- Clamchop 2y agoThere's some irony in this comment. It's also a textbook ad hominem. I love the ad and the stunt. I would have been as giddy as a child if I'd seen it in person. It's also rings true to me that it's rather wasteful and destructive in service of selling TVs. Shrug, what's done is done so I'm free to enjoy it guilt-free while also thinking we probably shouldn't do stunts like this anymore.
- s1artibartfast 2y agoSeems cool enough to me that it should have been done independent of selling TVs. I don't think it is wasteful, and to the extent it was destructive, it was well worth it. We should encourage and welcome more of this, not less. How it is funded does not diminish this, IMO.
- Clamchop 2y agoPardon me if "it looked cool" isn't persuasive.
- s1artibartfast 2y agoTo each their own. I hope there is something that sparks joy for you.
- scotty79 2y agoWhen it first came out I just assumed it's cgi. Because that's how any sane person would do it.
- jeffbee 2y agoA dump truck full of bouncy balls sounds a lot easier.
- sammcgrail 2y agoDoes it? Think about the permits, cleanup cost, ball cost (lol)
- wrs 2y agoA million dollars of CGI didn’t go as far in 2005 as it does now!
- owlninja 2y agoAnd we wouldn't be talking about it 20 years later :)
- jerf 2y agoIn 2025 this is something a casual YouTuber could do, or could be assigned as a school project. All the pieces are there now. You wouldn't even need to pay for anything, I don't think. Blender should be able to do everything you need, quite comfortably. Getting data from the world back into the special effects software has gotten magnitudes easier since then.
- 1-more 2y ago> Blender should be able to do everything you need, quite comfortably. Hell, Blender just made a movie that won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(2024_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(2024_film)
- adzm 2y agoThe cover of Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez is truly beautiful as well. I can't imagine this video without it.
- macNchz 2y agoThe ad actually sticks out in my mind not only for the visuals but because it introduced me to both Jose Gonzalez and The Knife.
- kenjackson 2y agoTotally looks like an AI generated video.
- curtisszmania 2y ago[dead]
- etrautmann 2y agoI lived in SF then and picked up a 5 gallon bucket of bouncy balls at a garage sale. I didn't realize until now that this is where they almost certainly came from.
- tristor 2y agoThis advertisement was the first time I ever saw an ad that made me think there could be something more to advertisement than being utterly soulless. It literally brings me to tears seeing it because of how beautiful the composition is and how well it works with the musical arrangement. There have been a few other ads throughout the years that are on a similar level, but they are few and far between. It's not just an effective advertisement, it's a cinematic masterpiece.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- tromp 2y agoSure beats lava lamps as a source of entropy...
- maartenscholl 2y agoNot really, the lava lamp's fluid dynamics are very sensitive to initial conditions and the fluids behave chaotically, whereas the bouncy balls have highly predictable trajectories.
- MisterTea 2y ago> whereas the bouncy balls have highly predictable trajectories. All we need are chaotic surfaces to bounce the balls on. Problem solved :-)
- joezydeco 2y agoThe follow up ad was impressive, too. Although I'm not sure what why there's a clown in the middle of it. https://youtu.be/G5tLqb8T5xU https://youtu.be/G5tLqb8T5xU
- maaarghk 2y agoSame guy who made the remaster linked in the article also remastered this one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY0bxhbPi3Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY0bxhbPi3Q - seems he had a retail DVD from Sony with a better original source on it
- anigbrowl 2y agoAt the opposite end we have excess CG, like that iPad ad last year which everyone hated because it depicted real art tools being crushed into a digital substrate.
- fractallyte 2y agoThere was this too, for Sony's Bravia: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-68904040 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-68904040 "The day explosions of colour painted a Glasgow estate: In 2006, Sony set out to create 'Paint', widely regarded as one of the most technically complex adverts ever made..."
- vincnetas 2y agorelated ad with exploding paint https://youtu.be/GdEtZK3CE2k?si=TtUn_VB8vBd7Eif5 https://youtu.be/GdEtZK3CE2k?si=TtUn_VB8vBd7Eif5 better quality https://youtu.be/G5tLqb8T5xU?si=hOTULgz71ilv2nS9 https://youtu.be/G5tLqb8T5xU?si=hOTULgz71ilv2nS9
- n1b0m 2y agoSo many iconic adverts from the 2000s. One of my favourite is the Honda Cog: https://youtu.be/bl2U1p3fVRk?si=Z1Oqz8SAMjIAg7Mn https://youtu.be/bl2U1p3fVRk?si=Z1Oqz8SAMjIAg7Mn
- MobileVet 2y agoI LOVED the Honda Cog video and the story [1] about how they made it along with the purported 100+ takes is craziness. I can't imagine resetting it so many times... especially since the offending item that kept killing it was so late in the chain. (1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cog_%28advertisement%29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cog_%28advertisement%29
- Angostura 2y agoIt's very classy. I personally, still have a soft-spot for the Tango Blackcurrent that nonchalantly slips in three Harrier jump-jets right at the end https://youtu.be/odCBml5TuNI?si=-pXipIDTLImrFNDo https://youtu.be/odCBml5TuNI?si=-pXipIDTLImrFNDo
- nailer 2y ago4K remaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UXS6DBD6g0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UXS6DBD6g0 Looks to be from original sources rather than upscaled.
- LeoPanthera 2y agoNo, it's upscaled. The cars have that distinctive smeary look, and the "text" on the road signs is nonsense.
- nailer 2y agoI thought the opposite - the 'lost cat' sign at https://youtu.be/2UXS6DBD6g0?t=94 https://youtu.be/2UXS6DBD6g0?t=94 is incredibly legible and definitely better than an upscaled 1080p image.
- LeoPanthera 2y agoTake a close look at the No Parking sign in the first two seconds.
- nailer 2y agoHehe NO PAURING you’re right the results are very inconsistent.
- red369 2y agoAlso, I took this line in the description to mean that it was upscaled: "4K professional remaster and re-grade by Mat Van Rhoon from HD to UHD"
- abridgett 2y agoTheir "paint" advert wasn't bad either: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ut_2GWIm4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ut_2GWIm4 though it can't compete with the music.
- LeoPanthera 2y agoTango, a British fruit soda, made their own version in Swansea, Wales, which is delightfully funny: https://youtu.be/ac_g4opW-UI https://youtu.be/ac_g4opW-UI
- residentraspber 2y agoLove that they kept the frog in this one! That part really surprised me about the original.
- jahnu 2y agoThey also made one of the greatest British ads of all time: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=odCBml5TuNI https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=odCBml5TuNI
- alkonaut 2y agoIt’s such a simple setup that you could make it in CGI in 2005 far cheaper than this. The balls barely affect the environment and the physics is really simple. I thought for 20 years that it was CGI because obviously ”who would do that cleanup?”. TIL. Really cool that they did this in real life.
- dwighttk 2y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_bx8bnCoiU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_bx8bnCoiU in case anyone wants to see the ad (I didn't follow all the links, but enough to know it wasn't immediately available)
- Nition 2y ago> "There was not a single bouncy ball in any machine in America for a couple months. I felt so bad for the poor children," said Fuglsig. I find it hard to believe that they really went around for months buying maybe 100 balls each from random dispensers until they had 250,000 - especially considering the design of the balls is mostly consistent in the end. Maybe a bit of fanciful storytelling?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Kkoala 2y agoYeah, it might also mean that the suppliers just didn't have balls to restock into those machines
- Nition 2y agoGood point, I guess they probably did mean scour the country for suppliers, rather than ball machines! Even in context you could read it both ways: > First, they had to scour the country to acquire the 250,000 bouncy balls needed to create the critical mass. “They bought every bouncy ball west of the Mississippi,” said Ranahan. “There was not a single bouncy ball in any machine in America for a couple months. I felt so bad for the poor children,” said Fuglsig.
- mortenjorck 2y agoThis is probably a colorful way of saying they bought up a couple months' worth of inventory from Wham-O's western-division distributors.
- keane 2y agoA 2010 upload to Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/14504562 https://vimeo.com/14504562 Sony's 2005 website for the ad: https://web.archive.org/web/20051124203345/http://www.bravia-advert.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20051124203345/http://www.bravia... Sony's 2005 behind-the-scenes page: https://web.archive.org/web/20051028021817/http://www.bravia-advert.com/commercial/index.html https://web.archive.org/web/20051028021817/http://www.bravia... Fallon's (ad agency) materials: https://www.fallon.com/?s=Bravia https://www.fallon.com/?s=Bravia One of the making-of videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOpq2aD5btA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOpq2aD5btA A resident point of view: https://archive.org/details/BouncyBall https://archive.org/details/BouncyBall
- ChuckMcM 2y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_bx8bnCoiU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_bx8bnCoiU If you want to watch the ad. A couple of friends of mine lived in the city at the time and were watching as they filmed it. We all agreed that it was both amazing and insane all at the same time.
- pas 2y agothere's a 4K remaster too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UXS6DBD6g0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UXS6DBD6g0
- thih9 2y agoHonorable mention goes to the Old Spice 2010 ad, where a lot was done in camera too, including the horse. The Man Your Man Could Smell Like: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE Pitch presentation: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/britton-taylor-7829292a_for-you-ad-nerds-here-is-the-original-presentation-activity-6906732158384254976-aJ_S https://www.linkedin.com/posts/britton-taylor-7829292a_for-y... Behind the scenes interview: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VDk9jjdiXJQ&t=11m40s https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VDk9jjdiXJQ&t=11m40s It was a big success and a series of similar clips followed; this one has an actual “behind the scenes” video: Scent vacation: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PJKAr1r5zlA https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PJKAr1r5zlA Behind the scenes: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=32TZSXG2y7E https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=32TZSXG2y7E
- breppp 2y agoAds, where excess money made in Capitalism is ritually burned
- MobileVet 2y agoWhile I also detest commercials as a whole, I think it is worth stepping back and viewing this as art. The concept, the visuals, the original song (not the one you find on most videos due to licensing)... it is beautiful and should evoke childhood joy and wonder. Yes it was wasteful, but if we only do things because they are efficient, I think our humanity suffers. They made at least one more commercial [1] during the same time period and it was also inspired by awe and wonder. While it did waste paint and likely pollute the local groundwater temporarily, it was conducted in a building that was scheduled for demolition. Paint (1) https://youtu.be/GURvHJNmGrc?si=syS1ImP0Z2oM1btO https://youtu.be/GURvHJNmGrc?si=syS1ImP0Z2oM1btO
- stavros 2y agoDoes anyone have a link to the ad? I couldn't find one in the article, which is a huge shame.
- kylecazar 2y agoFirst thing I thought of was the Balloonfest '86 fiasco. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloonfest_%2786 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloonfest_%2786
- moribvndvs 2y agoSame. Stemming from my experience growing up in Cleveland, I have zero patience when ad/PR outfits throw garbage everywhere for the spectacle. We’ve already got enough problems with trash everywhere.
- bigmattystyles 2y agoCool article - I was sad to see 'View to a Kill' called the worst Bond film as I must have seen 500 times as a child, it was always on TV.
- BonoboIO 2y agoThat … wow that was 20years ago, seamed like 7-9 years.
- TwoNineFive 2y agoToo many marketing and advert goons on HN, not enough engineers and actual hackers.
- mediumsmart 2y agoHere is the comparison with the cryengine2 version. https://youtu.be/WCeuzVy9BgA https://youtu.be/WCeuzVy9BgA
- ece 2y agoTIL