SONY SUPPORTS NEW GAMES WITH LOTS OF CONTESTS
By Adnews Staff
Toronto-based Sony Computer Entertainment America (Canada) is celebrating the launch of its new PlayStation video games with a slew of new contests. The new games are NHL FaceOff '99, NBA ShootOut '99 and CoolBoarders 3. To promote NHL FaceOff, Sony teamed up with Toys R Us to give hockey buffs a chance to win a hockey party at their favorite NHL rink. In addition, customers who purchase the game at most retailers will receive a free starter NHL All-Star cap. Those who buy NHL FaceOff at Blockbuster Video stores will receive a free hockey puck, and those who pre-purchase the game from Electronics Boutique will get an NHL FaceOff '99 T-shirt. Sony is also expanding its skills competition into new markets including Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Under the competition, six fans are picked from the audience during the intermission of NHL games to compete in three areas: target shooting, stick handling and round skating. Sony will also have lucky seat prize giveaways.
To support NBA ShootOut '99, Sony will sponsor a skills competition during intermission at Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors home games. In Toronto, the city's best high school basketball players will go head-to-head in four different events: slam dunk, round key, dribbling and three-point shooting. In Vancouver, fans will be picked from the audience during intermission and will play that night's match up. Customers who purchase NBA ShootOut will receive a mini basketball hoop.
To promote CoolBoarders 3, purchasers have a chance to win a snowboarding trip with PlayStation's national heliboarding contest. The games and contests will be promoted using TV, transit, print, cinema and in-stadium ads, as well as an extensive sampling program. In addition, CoolBoarders will be supported with point-of-purchase materials. The campaign will be created by Segal Communications of Toronto, while Harrison, Young, Pesonen & Newell of Toronto will handle the media buy.