A 48 Hour Takeover of the London Underground’s Roundels
Image: Matt Crossick
Last year the world-famous games console brand PlayStation, collaborated with Transport for London to pull off an ingenious marketing stunt.
Playstation gave several tube stations a makeover, rebranding the iconic Underground roundels with the brand’s signature button shapes, ahead of the much-anticipated release of the PS5. This follows the brand’s 2013 marketing stunt when it beamed the symbols onto London’s Oxo Tower to launch the PS4.
The signs were created by A.J Wells and Sons in Newport, Isle of Wight in secret.
A light installation was showcased at the London site to promote the launch, which was the culmination of a global brand activation situated in major cities across four continents. The projections were produced by the global brand experience agency Amplify.
It wasn’t just the light show and roundels, however. Inside the Underground, the tiled walls of the Bakerloo, Victoria, and Central line were rebranded. As part of the campaign Mile End, Lancaster Gate, Seven Sisters, and West Ham were also branded with different game releases.
Image: Matt Crossick
Mile End was renamed "Miles End" as a nod to the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales. West Ham was called "Horizon Forbidden West Ham" in recognition of the sequel to Horizon Zero Dawn, Seven Sisters became "Gran Turismo 7 Sisters" for the imminent latest edition of the car game, and Lancaster Gate was "Ratchet and Clankaster Gate" acknowledging the definitive PlayStation adventure game Ratchet and Clank.
The Oxford Circus branded overhaul was only up for 48 hours on November 18th and 19th, while those at Mile End, Lancaster Gate, Seven Sisters, and West Ham were up for another month.
Image: Matt Crossick
People in the world of Twitter lamented the blatant ‘corporatisation’ of public space, but we feel this is an innovative marketing stunt by Playstation and they deserve plaudits for its unique nature. We look forward to seeing what Playstation come up with for their next piece of integrated marketing communication.
Cover image courtesy of Sony.