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Remembering the Iconic Sony Bouncy Ball Ad in San Francisco

Sony's bouncy ball ad sent 250,000 colorful balls cascading down the hills of San Francisco. Revisiting this iconic 2005 campaign still gives us chills.

By Moss & FogUpdated 1 min read
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There are certain commercials that stick with you, long after the product they’re selling is irrelevant.

That’s certainly the case with Sony’s 2005 ad, which was meant to showcase how many colors their Bravia LCD televisions could show.

A still from the iconic ad.

The analogy was made using over 50,000 brightly colored bouncy balls, which were launched down one of San Francisco’s steepest streets.

The resulting images became iconic, especially when paired with musician Jose Gonzalez’s rendition of Heartbeats.

We find out, however, that the creation of the commercial was quite the undertaking, and the ensuing chaos of the bouncy balls was unprecedented.

Take a look at the making-of video below.

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Thousands of balls, converging on a street.

Here is the original ad, which is still considered one of the best ads of the last 50 years.

Images © Copyright Sony.

By Moss & Fog Staff

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