Mountain is a 2003
television and cinema advertisement launched by
Sony Corporation to promote the
PlayStation 2 video game console. The budget for production and advertising space purchases for the 60-second piece amounted to £5m across all markets. The commercial depicts a
Brazilian crowd congregating to form a mountain of human bodies, all competing to reach the top of the pile. The campaign surrounding
Mountain was handled by
advertising agency TBWA London. The commercial was directed by
Frank Budgen. Production was contracted to
Gorgeous Enterprises, with
post-production by
The Mill.
Mountain premiered in 30 countries on 13 November 2003.
Mountain is part of the larger "Fun, Anyone?" series, launched earlier in 2003, which aimed to increase
market share for the PlayStation 2 in the
family demographic. The advertisement and its associated campaign were a critical and financial success.
Mountain was nominated for over 40 awards from professional organisations in the advertising and television industries, including the Film Grand Prix at the
Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, considered the most prestigious award in the advertising community. Due in large part to the buzz generated by
Mountain, sales for the 2003 Christmas period exceeded expectations, and the PlayStation 2's
share of the console market increased from 74 to 77 percent.
