From now until the end of 2019 we will be celebrating next year by looking back and republishing some of our best features over the past twelve months, in addition to our regular releases. The article first appeared on the site in October. Enjoy!
The year is 1991. In a typical British family the average British family is covered on television, not yet sure about what has just happened during the ad breaks of their classic British opera. Traditional commercial decorations for washing powder and breakfast cereals are a tropical storm for quick planning and weird pictures; a smoke shop full of smoke, a good warrior and a gourmet installation and a detailed helping of slides organized from a series of video games, driven by an unflattering theme: To be this good it takes Sega. The result is a miracle. This is the family's first taste of an advertising campaign that will permanently change the way video games are promoted in the UK. This is the birth of & # 39; Pirate & # 39; TV.
We saw that the NES was exploding in North America so it seemed to be the right deal at the right time
The road to this pivotal point in the history of UK telecommunications has been one of the most widely documented in the last few decades, but it has been repeated. While Sega and Nintendo may be a pretty cool bed today, thirty players will vividly remember the time when the two giants fought tooth and nails, marking the dividing line in school gaming world long before Tony and Microsoft joined and took on similar roles. . While there are subtle differences in whether it is based in North America or Europe, UK, Sega's rise came from a deep desire to swim against the stools and bombs when possible, and the man in charge of this traumatic process was Nick Alexander.
Alexander & # 39; s entry into the video game took place in 1983, when he became executive director at Virgin, at the age of 27. His relationship with Sega began when Victoria bought the British budget label Mastertronic, the company responsible for Sega's distribution in Europe, late in the decade. . "Sega has stated that its delivery of Master Systems to Mastertronic has been delayed by Christmas, so angry retailers are canceling their orders," explains Alexander. "Markettronic ran into a financial problem that was solved solely by our acquisition of the company and merged with the Virginia Games to become Victoria Mastertronic, and I also played the role of managing director. As it turned out, SEGA failed to deliver a statement while its distributors in France and Germany, and asked us to replace both regions and -K. We saw that the NES was exploding in North America so it seemed like the right deal at the right time, so we agreed, and laid the foundations for Sega Europe – which would become Victoria Mastertronic in 1991 when Sega bought the company and became CEO of Sega Europe. "
The innovative outlook that seemed to hit all of Richard Branson's business prospects was present and correct in both Virgin Mastertronic and Sega Europe, and this had a direct impact on Alexander's position when it came to promoting Sega products. "In the early '90s, Nintendo's advertising position was to keep kids playing with mom and dad, becoming happy families," continued Alexander. "We, being a Vilakazi company, it just seemed to me that kids didn't want to play with their parents. They wanted to rebel a little, they wanted to have more attitude; this didn't mean to be part of a happy family – this was about killing things, fighting things and driving fast. Stand up was more than one player; it was talked about an older player again – thinking that when you get an older teenager then younger siblings like their older siblings will naturally follow. Of course, our marketing has never really changed what matters. This is about dating, above all else unlike your parents. "
In Japan, Sega as a company impersonating Nintendo, and they thought that if Nintendo did, so should we
Alexander's bold vision was to be executed by the fraudulent sales duo of Phil Ley and Simon Morris. This has attracted Alexander's attention after his illustrious company is running one of the first Queen Mastertronic campaigns. "I was looking for the first ads to be made, such as those with a television to talk to and using the original motto & # 39; To be this good take & # 39; & # 39 ;," she explains. "They were very professional and very artistic – it was a standard advertising for the division, in fact. After that, I was offered a job as a marketing director at Sega UK. Nick was my manager, Phil was doing commercials in Europe and I was looking for ads."
Alexander and his rubbing team found themselves in a unique position compared to other regional offices of Sega. "In Japan, Sega as a company has compared itself to Nintendo, and they thought that if Nintendo did, we should do it," he said. However, this approach did not lead to significant gains, with Sega's new 16-bit Mega Drive system apparently unable to break the cast-iron border of the aging Famicom. "The Japanese market was something like Nintendo's 85 percent, Sega's 15 percent. In North America, the story was very similar to Japan, where the NES enjoyed complete control of the market in 8. But in Europe things were completely different; from the moment on, we were the market leader. We heard Nintendo change their distribution plans in the UK a lot each year because they weren't fixing it and continuing to try to do something else. "This allowed Sega to launch the first track by trying ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 owners to use their Master-less home machines instead of -Master System, a console that gives reliable answers to the old Sega type they played in their local entertainment houses.
Despite its early European success, Morris felt at that time Sega continued to bet abroad. He explains, "the tectonic plates were still building." There were two major players and we were underdogs, despite our huge market share. In the early days it was an arcade business that was trying to become a residential business, and Nintendo – distributed by Matt Time – was a very & # 39; s safest & # 39; family and had an impressive record in Japan and North America. Nintendo was building awareness of its family-friendly and Super Mario graphics, and our guess is that kids will eventually reject that .We are willing to create space for our advertising, and the point I always provide is that it was Rolling Stones to Nintendo & # 39; s Beatles. "
Nintendo was building an awareness of its family-friendly images on the Super TV, and our guess is that kids will eventually reject that
It was clear to me from the outset that the captivating hearts and minds of the nation's youth required a new marketing atmosphere that was despising the old. Nintendo had played it safe and had a tendency to show families camping on the TV screen with rictus lines plastered on their faces – a tried-and-tested approach aimed at entertaining parents who eventually came to control – but Morris knew naturally that communicating with the real audience, the players themselves, was a true way to break the market. "It was all about rock and roll, it was all about being anti-establishment, it's about being something your parents wouldn't promote in a million years," she said. "I've always had a picture on my desk with what I call a" disco vicar "- an activist who tried to bring children down to a church disco and failed miserably. We always treated that as a litmus test in our building work. Looks like we are trying to be a disco vicar? , we couldn't do it. "
Which leads us back to the happy state recounted earlier; this noble family wonders what the hell they just saw during their holy ad holiday break. The 1992 commercial that really brought a change to Sega's UK is known as & # 39; Cyber Razor Cut & # 39; Nintendo & # 39; s 16-bit Super NES made its European appearance the same year, gave Sega its first test in the region, and the weapon of the company facing this high-tech rival was Jimmy's fool. Played by Welsh actor Peter Wingfield – who will continue to gain worldwide fame Highlander: Series and recently retired from becoming a doctor in the United States – Jimmy was a great example. The commercial opens with our hero stepping into a puddle of smoke-filled hair, sitting on a chair and asking for a barber cut from barber deranged, beautifully decorated by Steve O & # 39; Donnell – perhaps best known for his portrayal of Spud Gun in Rik Mayall and Ade Edmondson & # 39; s farcical sitcom. Down. This request shows a sequence where Jimmy's arms and eyes & # 39; s eyes are enlarged & # 39; firmly, allowing him to understand the Mega Drive game stream – of which there are over 100, Jimmy kindly informs us – flooding the screen.
This devastating TV spot was filmed by award-winning filmmaker Geoff Boyle, who has worked in the arena since 1985 and can count Ford, Pepsi, Lego, BMW and Fosters as some of his past clients. "I remember I had really good storyboards that were more like comics than mainstream & # 39; storyboards," recalls Boyle. "Commercial news boards are not usually a series of pictures in the same way as TV and are intended to be a strong guide. What we found out about this was a good comic book with universal structure; the purpose was to give us a sense of a part and to encourage us to explore and play with images."
A large boiling boat just outside the studio door was intimidating; I used the whole shoot just waiting for it to blossom
Cyber Razor Cut has pushed the boundaries of technology and the arts, giving Boyle the opportunity to experiment with new technologies and new techniques. "This was a time when cameras started popping up and the rapid changes of shooting became easier," he recalls. However, the shoot did not have any problems with it. "We had to push all the metal down so we could pull the steam up and down – this turned the set into a swamp! A big hot boat just outside the studio door was scary; I used the whole shoot and waited for it to explode."
The Cyber Razor Cut was just the beginning. More publicity is followed, evidenced by the dynamic power between the experienced gamer and his young ninja kick. "We did those ads with John Lloyd – director of Blackadder – and they really put us in the UK, "Morris said." The rear building was at the back of the London docklands area, which was also ahead of its time; when I see it Good Long Friday or Bladadder I think how we brought those two different things together with Jimmy's campaign. "Sega's approach was clear & # 39; in your face & # 39; and quite impactful, yet explored key themes that are almost timeless – as long as they & # 39; ve been successfully used in the world of videogame marketing." Jimmy was a visionary of the way we thought players were seeing themselves. "I've been working with Amazon recently on a TV series." Mr. Robot, and in fact that's the same idea; over 20 years later and someone turned it into a TV show! Jimmy was a cool tech kid living under the radar of a custom-made truck filled with cool gears and latest games. "
Jimmy's campaign continued with & # 39; Howdedodat & # 39 ;, used to sell a Mad Max-stylehlone environment that was focused on selling Sega portable conga full of Sega colors. "It was completely illuminated and the mirrors needed to be repaired regularly to compensate for the moving sun," explains Boyle, who returned to direct the beautiful exhibition. "The dust was just amazing. At one point I recommended a good make-up – or maybe it & # 39; it's a bad name – Steve [O & # 39; Donnell] looked; he had a really dirty, fat look. They replied that they weren & # 39; t done anything. , and asked if I had tried to stay in his place. I forced myself to find that the result of all my glasses was to make a hot oven far, far hotter than what the baker had just cooked. No wonder he was sweeping it! "Photographed outside Guadix in Spain, materials by Howdedodat confirmed that Boyle and his team are dealing with interesting questions at the home desk. "We had to explain to the officials that the big sand bag we had with us was actually a big sand bag – we did that with the closure of a studio in London and wanted to make sure the sand was the same."
We actually introduced a series of spoof ads for fictional products – which I remember very well was a coupon machine called Ecco
However, even Sega's cool snow was eventually seen as too obvious and predictable, and Jimmy would be put to the pasture when the company switched to the next phase of its unpopular marketing. "We had a landmark slogan on Sega Pirate TV, which was a vehicle that gave us great flexibility," Morris said. "We actually introduced a series of spoof ads for fictional products – which I remember very well that he was a booking machine called Ecco." These short commercials are backed by a billboard campaign that had official objections to these fake products, but when the corners were separated a few days later the Pirate TV logo would be revealed, along with the date and time the sale & # 39; – something that in the days before the internet, was a unique project. "This was a viral marketing before the idea of viral marketing became a reality," Mokris said. "People have no clue how they are and that was okay, it made them talk."
While Peter Wingfield's genius Jimmy was mistreated, the well-respected O & # 39; Donnell character was retained as the manager of the Pirate TV tournament genre, which was about to take on the most unimaginable fashion. "We launched the Mega-CD in 1993 for a two-and-a-half-minute sale completely ad breaks – I don't think that has been done in the UK before, "recalls Morris. The venue is actually a French filmmaker Ford Coppola Apocalypse Now and was sourced from the Thai region at great cost. O & # 39; Donnell has taken on the role of witch Colonel Walter E. Kurtz – only in this version, he has already gone AWOL to play video games.
"We actually found a boat used in the months of the Thai military and had the use of government resources to assist us with our shooting," Morris explained. "We took the standard bridge, started it on the first round and blasted it. Then we set fire to the stadium to get the right ammunition, but we later realized that we had actually crossed the border into neighboring Burma, which made it happen. Naturally, we were asked to explain it afterwards, but we seemed to forgiveness rather than permission – that would be a great way to summarize all the way through the season. ”Blended sideways, it is impossible to overlook the amazing impact that trade has on you. "I'm sure this place appeared 11 times, but in later life when I met people, everyone remembered seeing it," continued Morris. "I would like to refer to this as & # 39; The Woodwood Athact & # 39; – the number of people who say they go to Woodstock and the number of people actually It's gone very differently, and that the merchandise gets the same kind of lying and cachet. "
We started burning down the field to get the right back, but we realized later that we actually crossed the border into neighboring Burma, which led to a reign of terror.
The subsequent commercials & # 39; Pig Planet & # 39; they were even more amazing than before, boasting nesting arrangements, masses of bad pigs and the revenge of O & # 39; Donnell brandging and redesigning Mega Dr II and Mega CD II. On the other side of the US Sega pool, under the amazing leadership of former Mattel boss Tom Kalinske, he had achieved a great deal of attention for older players in the edgy market, but nonetheless, Alexander admits that it was often difficult to get his Japanese managers to understand exactly what Sega Europe was trying to accomplish with his campaign . "I think it would be fair to say that they were completely surprised," he said. "They were going to look at the sale and see that we were getting results, but in fact they didn't. I remember having a meeting with Sega president Hayao Nakayama in London also suggesting that we should use Japanese ads in Europe to save money – advertising ads in the market where Sega accounted for 15 percent. make sense to use European ads in Japan! "
It would not be easy to convince Sega of Japan that demon riders, spoof traders and pigs of the state were required to sell the product to the UK people, and Morris feels that Alexander doesn't get enough credit for the protection he paid for his team marketing at the time. He admits, "We've pursued things." "We had Viz-printed ads [an adult-oriented joke that continues to run until today] that made masturbation minds and included slogans such as & # 39; The more you play about it, the harder it becomes & # 39; white and focused on families as the target audience. Nick, in his debt, protected us from the Japanese Sega so well, until one day someone saw Viz advertisements on a return flight to Tokyo and traveled quite a tonto! Nick was an amazing leader who allowed generals his lucky ones – me and Phil Ley – that they went to create exciting violence, and it worked. "
It was at this point that Nintendo finally tried to get back on track with its campaign, and applied to make fun of Rik Mayall look forward to a disrespectful TV commercial series – also directed by John & # 39; Blackadder & # 39; Lloyd, in harmony – intended to attract the same audience. Sega had been a successful candidate. Morris doesn't think as much now as he did when he originally connected. "We had already taken that vacancy and it was very difficult to remove it from that point," he said. "If I were Nintendo at that time I would have thought about how this made the company look to consumers – trying to replace it that wasn't yours. But anyway, impersonation is the first way to flatter – it proved that we were quite right, at least."
If I were Nintendo at the time I would have thought about how this made the company look in the eyes of the consumer
As Sega's position in the UK grows, so do promotional opportunities available to the company. In 1993 the company became a leading sponsor of the William F1 team, and in doing so, unknowingly, helped to shape the history of motorsport. "We knew one of Damon Hill's old friends and through this contact he made a commitment to give him money that was instrumental in finding the drive with Williams that year," explained Morris. "Bringing sponsorship to Williams meant getting his seat guaranteed, meaning he was in a position to do what he did next, which was a world championship win in 1996 and became the first generation driver to do so."
Sega's 1993 adventure on Formula One didn't end there; during that time it bought the rights to the European Grand Prix, which took place in the intensive racing conditions of Donington Park in the East Midlands. "It was a floating Grand Prix and no one else wanted to sponsor it," recalled Morris. The deal cost a fortune and Morris admits that at that time he and his team were receiving a lot from high-profile people in Sega, but looking back, it was nothing short of amazing sales. “If you have ever watched Asif Kapadia’s written film Senna whatever F1 has to do, you will know that the opening load recorded by Ayrton Senna in this race – where he got four drivers in the driving rain – is said to be the best barrel by sports fans, "Morris explained. today without showing the Sega symbol. "
As well as having its logo embedded in just about every advertising element in the series, Sega sent the Sonic Sonic the Hedgehog Trophy that was held high by the winning Senna on the plate. No promotional option is yet to be held. "We offered to paint Sonic's feet on the side of the Wand FW15C so it would look like he was driving and we were trying to finance the under Damon Hill car in case he changed it," laughs Morris, though he is obviously not joking. "I was recently at McLaren and some of the guys reminded me that we used to put Pirate TV in the car for every race that Damon won, and they started putting a giant hedgehog in front of Senna's car when you won! Can you imagine what is happening in sports today, with the amazing power of online sharing and social media? It could go wrong! As our highest profession at the time, it was one of the only things that came together. "The outrage of this friendly rivalry between Sega-backed Williams and McLaren was exactly that. Super Monaco GP II, the 1992 Mega Drive sequence in the popular arcade title, had Senna's consistency and was built with his input.
We turned into the smallest market share we shared at the end of the 16th season … We had 75% of the market at one time and we were the first to make one million units in one day
While there were other factors that were important to Sega's success at the time – such as excellent games, strong third-party support and reputable pricing – it's impossible not to underestimate the company's marketing offering, a tool that allows Sega to enter the UK's many malls and turn unfriendly teenagers into loyalty, almost seeking to find a cause. "We turned into the smallest market share we shared at the end of the 16th season," Morris said.
"We had a 75 percent market at one time and were the first to make one million units in one day Sonic 2 it was breaking the record; thinking about that launch in the pre-digital days, that was a great thing to ship over 750,000 units for sale. But even then, we only used what we did to never write crazy; we were paying our advertising bills for our money – it was the old school, the days before the dots when the methods showed the reasons and the services allowed the following way. There was active control in that sense. "
However, nothing lasts forever and as the glory days 16 draw closer to Alexander he was drawn into his role. "The lack of understanding between Europe and Japan was a major reason for me to decide to move on," he laments. "We had seen in early 1993 that the 16s market would go down and that it would be some time before the $ 32 machines became more market-prone, so there was a conference. The beginning of the year and we decided that what we needed to do was somehow different, to secure some revenue. We had a Mega CD and it seemed to me that Thames provided a unique program that could help us continue playing video with our hardware and provide us with media outlets – most of which have international complaints. – that will give us plenty of console options. There will be a video game game, but in the meantime, there will be enough money to keep us distracted. Sega of Japan conveyed the idea and that, so I decided to go ahead. "
Once you have a clear idea about something, it's easy to know whether something is right or wrong … That includes our marketing efforts and all the other promotional work we have done with us
Morris will also be part of the company with Sega after the launch of the Mega CD, and he speculates that he has a desire to move things as the main reason for his departure. "I like to create change and relax," she says. Phil and I moved to Sky, challenging the British television scene. Then later, I was working with Ginger Productions and Chris Evans when we did things like TFI on Friday and the Radio One The Breakfast Show, then at Football365, which was one of the biggest dots in the first round. Later I found LoveFilm, bought by Amazon, leading me to my current role as Amazon's Worldwide Vice President. There is a pattern in terms of my career – as long as I get to feel comfortable, I move on. "
Although he is his beloved and glittering CV, Morris is very keen to emphasize that his time working at Sega was probably the most important of all his career. "The signing of that kind of advertising and the lessons learned from those campaigns were directly responsible for the success of Sky, my contribution to Ginger and my ten year contribution to LoveFilm," he said. "They all owe me what I learned and what I was allowed to do in Sega days. Once you have a clear idea of something, it is easy to know if something is right or wrong, and I have always been accustomed to us. all the other promotions we did with it; it was & # 39; 360-degree & # 39; & # 39; CRM & # 39; marketing before those goals became available. "
Since the end of the 16-bit era, the video game field has changed almost unnoticed. Sega and Nintendo, two armies that have pledged to overlap, have been backing each other, and Tony – the company that went into the 32nd season to embarrass the old guard – remains a huge force. UMorris ubona izinto ajwayelekile ezentengiso zikaSony maphakathi no-90s, ezazigxile kakhulu esikweni elivamile nasekuvukeleni.
USony uthathe ngqo lapho sishiya khona. Umphathi wabo wokukhangisa wayengahlosile umfundi ngalokho esikwenzile eSega
U-Sony uthi: "USony uthathe ngqo lapho sishiya khona," "Umkhokheli wabo wezentengiso ubengamfundi ongazi ukuthi senzeni eSega. Abantu bakhuluma ngoSony abasebenza ngezomculo kanye namaqembu edansa adumile ukuthola ukuthembeka, kepha besenza izinto eMnyangweni Wezomsindo ngo-1993 – besikulokho isikhala ngaphambi kokuthi bafike endaweni yesehlakalo. " Kodwa-ke, ngenkathi uSega kungenzeka ukuthi ubeke izisekelo, u-Sony wakhela ubukhosi phezu kwabo, okuthi noma ngaphezulu, buhlale buqinile eminyakeni engama-20 eyedlule, Ku-Alexander, lokhu kukhombisa ukuthi imboni isifikile kangakanani kusukela ekuqaleni kuka-90s ; isiphithiphithi esimnandi sesidale ukuqina. “Ngibheka ibhizinisi manje futhi ngisebenza kakhulu,” kusho yena. "Kwesinye isikhathi besenza izinto phezulu njengoba besihamba, kepha bekuyisikhathi esihle ukubandakanyeka kukho."
UMorris uyavuma. "Kungumsebenzi omuhle kakhulu ukuba nawo. Ama-brand akhona emiqondweni yabantu – awekho nje ngasohlangothini lwebhasi noma kwisikhangiso se-TV. Siqinisekise ukuthi – nami inzondo ukusebenzisa igama – sabonwa njengophawu 'opholile' futhi sadlula kukho konke esikwenzile. Yinto engiye ngazama ukuyiphindaphinda kuzo zonke ezinye izindima engake ngangena kuzo. Ngikusho lokhu ngokuzithoba okukhulu, kodwa ngibona sengathi bekungumkhankaso ochaza kabanzi isigaba semidlalo yamavidiyo. "
Lesi sici savela ekuqaleni I-Eurogamer ngonyaka ka-2016 futhi ishicilelwe lapha ngemvume yomusa.
