Sony's Cyber-Shot Smile Shutter Feature Captures Happy Memories in Foam City

Market Wire, May, 2008

Sony is to once again draw the public into the wondrous world of Foam City with their latest ad -- focusing on their award-winning Cyber-shot range.

The commercial was one of the product stories shot in an area of downtown Miami, transformed by Sony into a foam-filled wonderland.

Completely unscripted, the advert features Miami citizens playing in the foam and capturing all the fun thanks to Sony's Smile Shutter technology (available on the latest range of Cyber-shot cameras). Sony's Smile Shutter solves the problem of missing out on a great picture by firing off the shutter the moment everyone is smiling.

"'Foam City' is a fun environment where people of all ages and interests could go and have a true experience like no other," says James Kennedy, General Manager, Marketing Communications, Sony Europe. "With Cyber-shot we focused on the ease of use of products like the W170 and also highlighted the Smile Shutter's capabilities -- we saw time and again people taking perfect group shots, where everyone is smiling. The ad is full of magical moments."

Sony will roll out two further adverts later this month, this time focusing on the new Handycam camcorder and Alpha DSLR ranges. The creative team behind all the fun was advertising agency Fallon London, and all the ads were helmed by renowned director Simon Ratigan.

"The filmatic style was chosen to represent the hundreds of 'snaps' people captured during the shoot. We knew that people use different cameras for different reasons and we wanted to capture this in Foam City," says Director Simon Ratigan . "To do so each of the 'product films' were edited to reflect the way people use different Sony cameras. In Cyber-shot's case it was about capturing great, fun moments."

Known for his work on numerous soundtracks and with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Warren Ellis composed the music live as he viewed the advert to create a unique musical experience.

The Cyber-shot advert is available to watch online at www.sony.co.uk/images . Additional filming documentaries and the original Foam City advert are also available on the site.

Fun facts about the shoot

--  There are 200 Miami inhabitants all recording their 'Foam City'
    experiences

--  The ad uses the world's biggest foam machine -- 2.8m in diameter

--  1,000 litres of water are being used to create 2,000,000 litres of
    foam per minute

--  The rate at which the foam is produced would fill an Olympic swimming
    pool in 24 seconds

--  By the end of the shoot it is estimated 460 million litres of foam
    will have been produced

--  To create the perfect bubbles, Allan the Bubble Professor was hired --
    with over 15 years' experience in the bubble business

--  The ad uses custom built bubble machines -- made to produce odd shaped
    bubbles

--  18 people are tasked with creating the foam out of a crew of 150

--  The advert uses 3 cameras running 80,000 feet of film. This means 16
    hours of running time to produce the 90 second commercial
    

NOTES TO EDITORS

Environmental Info

Sony is engaged in a constant review of its manufacturing, operational and business practices to ensure that its products are developed in an environmentally responsible way. This approach can broadly be divided into three areas:

Environmental Information: 3Ps

Product:

--  The foam produced for foam city is non-toxic and biodegradable.

Process:

--  Foam created is broken down quickly using a special spray (used in
    catering processes) to ensure minimal impact on local environment.
--  Street cleaning machines used to remove any remaining foam and
    bubble residue at the end of each shoot day.

Planet:

--  All drains in Foam City are sealed off to prevent foam and bubble
    product passing into the main water supply -- ensuring environment
    is protected.

Sony is determined to lead the way as a responsible manufacturer, and as a result we are focusing on three key areas of investment:

1.  Reducing CO2 gas emissions
2.  Increasing the percentage of renewable energy  used in
    manufacturing facilities
3.  Minimising the resources used by our factories in manufacturing

About Sony:

Sony manufactures audio, video, communications and information technology products for the global consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to be one of the world's leading digital entertainment brands. Sony recorded consolidated global annual sales of EUR 55.83 billion (yen 8,296 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, based on an average market exchange rate for the same period of yen 148.6 to the EUR. It employs approximately 163,000 people worldwide.

In Europe, the Sony Group recorded consolidated annual sales of EUR 13.71 billion (yen 2,038 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007. Sony Europe, headquartered at the Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, is responsible for the company's European electronics business and registered consolidated sales of EUR 9.12 billion for the same period.