Sony and Leonard Cohen poetically come together
Sony's 2 Worlds uses Leonard Cohen to give the ad some "feel" to it
Sony have cleverly used Leonard Cohen in their new advert “Two Worlds” to emotionalise their brand beyond any visual way of doing so. There’s nothing as emotively powerful, thoughtful and sad as a Leonard Cohen song or in this case poem. Sony benefit from this positive association in ways that they could never do with just a standard voice over or any visual effect.
It’s a brave move to combine the special effects of the world ending as two lovers come together to demonstrate the amazing 3D vision with the artistry and beauty of Cohen’s spoken word. It matches perfectly the Sony brand positioning of “Don’t just watch. Feel”. You can do nothing but “feel” with the help of Leonard Cohen, usually depressingly or some would say thoughtfully but hey at least it’s an emotion.
Bringing feeling to Sony
Whether most of the target audience, especially in Asia for example know who Leonard Cohen is is irrelevant as the words and the way that they are spoken by Cohen’s hauntingly gritty voice have such emotive power that they convey the brand values and prick the soul in ways a soundtrack would struggle to match. Anyone who has seen Leonard Cohen in concert or heard his music or poems would instantly respond positively to the sound and feel of the advert.
As the review in the FT said this week “if this was a radio ad it would be the best radio ad in the world” and really the special effects don’t match the emotional power of Cohen’s spoken words, but what could?
