| Double Life[1] [2] | |
| Client: | Sony Europe |
| Product: | PlayStation |
| Agency: | TBWA\London |
| Director: | Frank Budgen |
| Production Company: | Gorgeous Enterprises, London |
| Producer: | Paul Rothwell (production company), Di Croll (agency) |
| Music: | Zoo Studios, London |
| Released: | 1999 |
| Runtime: | 60 seconds |
| Country: | International release |
| Language: | English |
Double Life is a television advertisement released in 1999 by SCE Europe. The 60-second long ad – conceived and written by copywriter James Sinclair, art director, Ed Morris and Trevor Beattie (creative director) – shows 19 PlayStation players discussing their gaming experience with the console. The ad was the most highly awarded in the world in 1999/2000 and has gone on to gain cult status.
The ad begins with an English-sounding man in a suit who walks through a busy street. He starts the ad by saying "For years, I've lived a double life. In the day, I do my job – I ride the bus, roll up my sleeves with the hoi-polloi.", then a number of different characters are seen including the same man sitting undressed on a bed with a woman ("But at night, I live a life of exhilaration,"), a woman of Asiatic appearance ("of missed heartbeats and adrenalin."), a middle-aged man on a leather couch ("And, if the truth be known",) with teenage girl who sits down beside him, a young man wearing a hat ("a life of dubious virtue."), a man beside a car, ("I won't deny -") and wearing a scary – looking mask ("I've been engaged in violence, even indulged in it."), a shirtless boy on a skate ramp ("I've assailed adversaries, and not merely in self-defence."), a man in a bathtub ("I've exhibited disregard for life,"), a black man in a wheelchair ("limb"), and the man in the bath again ("and property,"), a "couch potato" ("and savoured every moment."), a person with a deep voice in a corset ("You may not think it, to look of me"), a foreign sounding woman with a shaved head ("but I have commanded armies,"), a preschool child ("and conquered worlds."), a cyclist wearing sunglasses and a scarf over his face ("And though in achieving these things"), an older man with long white hair ("I've set morality aside,"), a topless pregnant woman holding a soundless crying baby ("I have no regrets."), the black man spinning in his wheelchair again ("For though I've led a double life, at least I can say") and finally the first man, in close up ("- I have lived.") before a black screen comes up at the end saying "Do not underestimate the power of PlayStation".
The original ad had a small difference: the line "a life of dubious virtue" was said by the teenage girl, followed in some versions by a black man in athletic clothes making a popping sound with his lips. The girl's entire line was replaced in Sony's official version of the ad during their 2014 #20YearsOfPlay promotion.
The ad is internationally known (even though, it is a mainly European ad) and many people from the US and Asia have commented on its quality. Scott Steinberg, author of Videogame Marketing and PR and founder of Embassy Multimedia Consultants commented on the ad in 2008, saying
Double Life has clocked up over half a million views on YouTube[3] and the ad topped Joystiq.com's "Top 10 Best PlayStation Ads". On 11 May 2007, Double Life was added to the Clio Hall of Fame.[1] Also, the first few lines ("For years, I've lived a double life.") are the first things featured on IGN's podcasts. A small screenshot of the ad was featured in The Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition.