That's right! I am not a fan of Kevin Butler ads (anymore at least), and I'll tell you why. But first, know that this is not a big deal to me, it's more of a fun article (and a way to toss my name into the PSN giveaway hat at the desperate last second). Though I suppose a fun article shouldn't be so negative... but, whatever.
Point is, don't take it too seriously. Moving on, there are three problems I think the ads have:
1) Kevin Butler ads feel like an ad about Kevin Butler
2) He ruins the tone of certain games
3) He is a poster boy for internet fans
1) Now, I did find him humorous when he first debuted the “It Only Does Everything” ad campaign. But slowly, he turned into a pretty big bore. The biggest issue I have with him is that he manages to steal the spotlight away from the games he is supposed to be advertising. I can recall many of his antics, and as a result, the games in those ads are more of an afterthought. On top of that, I just don't understand some his material. I know fans love it, but his newer stuff hasn't really made much sense to me, and I just want to see the game being advertised instead of being told a story about Kevin Butler's latest situation.
2) I can't help but compare his ads to Microsoft's. Strictly speaking, I feel Microsoft still does a better job. I last remember the Fable 3 and Halo advertisements, and man, were they something. Even a game like Fable, which I found to be pretty standard and forgettable, was over-glorified as this huge epic game. Remember the Revolution ad?
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
This was for freaking FABLE! When has anything in Fable reflected what you see in the ad?
Now, compare this to God of War 3's ad: http://www.youtube.com/watc...
See the issue? A game like God of War surely deserved better. For comparison's sake, let's look at God of War: Chains of Olympus' ad: http://www.youtube.com/watc...
Now THAT was much more epic. You can see the tone of all three games, and you can truly see Microsoft's ability to generate immense hype for even their tamest of games, and Sony's ability to highlight the moods of the games they advertise (the PSP ad).
The Kevin Butler ads furthermore sometimes tell you briefly about a game. The standalone PlayStation ads, however show you and narrate to you. Microsoft ads hypnotize you and truly sell you a product that you may not even be interested in!
So, the problem of tone then, is that Kevin Butler rips out the mood of certain games, and turns them into a comedy gag. Seems pretty anti-climatic to me. The KB ad itself shows only a few seconds of gameplay, and some of it isn't even the main focus of the ad.
3) He is overrated and much too loved by internet fans, and I think this is where the translation between the average consumer and internet core fans gets misinterpreted. As well, his praise on how beneficial he is to Sony also gets blown out of proportion here. Kevin Butler is, by far, a great marketing mouthpiece for the fans. But, really, that's all he is. Outside of the internet, I feel his is pretty irrelevant to Sony's marketing. He is able to poke at the competition and get away with it, but once again, who outside of the internet saw the PlayStation Move's “Buttons” promo and really cares?
Some Likely Counterpoints:
1) Stop whining! Everybody hated the first PS3 campaign, and the Kevin Butler ads were better
Not true in my opinion. Personally, I loved the debut ads for the PS3. Why? It did what is was supposed to do: highlight the most special thing about the PS3, its raw, alien power. Kevin Butler ads may be a spunky way to highlight the PS3's return to roots, but Sony's PS2 ads were also pretty creepy:
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