Every seven to ten years, the gaming giants go head-to-head with their new console releases. A successful launch is paramount. The early winner is almost certain to win the overall battle for the next generation of gamers.

In November 2020, it was the turn of PS5 to go up against the Xbox Series X|S.

But earlier in the year, gamers and non-gamers alike had rushed out to buy consoles to keep themselves and their families entertained through lockdown. 1 in 4 UK homes already had a PS4!

This, coupled with unprecedented secrecy surrounding PS5, meant our launch campaign was more important than ever.

We needed to win in gaming, becoming ‘the console you need right now’, and to win in culture, becoming ‘the console you should have when the time is right’.

So, despite the threat of another UK lockdown, we created an out of home stunt in one of the UK’s most famous locations; Oxford Street: in normal times, the busiest street in the world, and even during lockdown one of the UK’s most famous and recognisable places.

And so, we took the world-renowned London Underground sign and paired it with PlayStation’s own brand iconography: the shapes that have represented PlayStation since 1994.

In doing so, we combined imagery that’s instantly recognisable to both gamers and non-gamers, with a beloved icon that’s never been changed in such a dramatic fashion before, generating a set of images that immediately captured the importance of launch.

Four entrances, four roundels;?the?Oxford Circus takeover was the?pinnacle?activation of our launch plan.??

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But what people saw overground, became more under it.?Those venturing into Oxford Circus found the shapes in many areas of station signage and branding.?

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That’s not all. Four other Underground stations across London were taken over by some of the next generation’s most loved games, featuring scenery and characters from fan-favourite franchises.?For example, ?Mile End?Station?paid?homage to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales by becoming?‘Miles End’.

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Alongside our TFL activity, we?launched a?series of OOH special builds,?as well as?a?spectacular media-first 3D domination of the world-famous Piccadilly Lights.??

But why go ahead with an experiential campaign during lockdown, I hear you ask? We had a bullet proof PR plan to?bolster it, ensuring that it wasn’t just people?going through?Oxford Circus who delighted in our?iconic installation.?

The activation lived far beyond the boundaries of London. Far beyond the UK in fact.

The image reveal of our TFL stunt achieved a staggering 9 million organic impressions, and nearly a billion news coverage media impressions including Mail Online, Evening Standard, Good Morning Britain and even a public commendation from the Mayor of London on his Instagram account.

Over 34,000 Twitter accounts shared the campaign visuals, spreading the news not only in the UK but worldwide. And we even hit the top of Reddit.

All this laddered up to PS5 becoming the most in-demand individual product of the Christmas period for 2020, setting records across retail, establishing a dominant position over the X Box Series with 67% market share in their respective launch weeks, and ultimately being the most successful UK console launch of all time*.

*Source: GfK Chart-Track Data, November 2020