Greatness Awaits

Read the campaign story

PlayStation introduced Greatness Awaits in June 2013 ahead of its next console launch. BBH New York’s contemporary account describes a film leading into an integrated brand experience. Digital partner Haus explains how the footage became an exploratory environment with hidden details, allowing viewers to move beyond watching into a more active encounter with the campaign world.

Haus also documents Bid for Greatness, a related experience involving campaign props and players’ existing trophies. PlayStation’s 2014 blog explicitly continues the platform with further fan activity. These extensions are grouped once here. The case does not attribute console sales to the advertising or treat partner-reported views as evidence of a uniquely effective participation mechanism.

Editorial interpretation: the interactive layer gives close attention a purpose. A film rich in visual detail can become a space to investigate, making the audience’s curiosity part of the distribution and retention mechanism. The strongest version of this idea offers discoveries that deepen the central proposition. Merely hiding clickable objects can produce activity without helping people understand why the brand or product matters.

Editorial interpretation: rewarding prior achievement can recognise an existing community, but it can also create barriers for newcomers or encourage excessive effort if handled carelessly. A smaller adaptation should not need valuable prizes or a competitive hierarchy to be engaging. It can offer optional layers of explanation, accessible navigation and a clear endpoint. The strategic question is whether participation enriches the experience, not whether the design can keep people occupied indefinitely.

Design the film and exploration together

Identify which details can reward a second look before production, rather than adding hotspots after the film is finished. Each discovery should reveal something relevant about the creative world or the product. This creates a more coherent experience and reduces the risk that interaction feels like an unrelated promotional game. Test the underlying information architecture before investing in elaborate motion or effects.

Give newcomers a complete route through the idea

Fans may enjoy references that others do not recognise, but the core message should remain understandable without specialist knowledge. Provide a simple overview and optional deeper layers. This lets a campaign acknowledge its community without turning familiarity into an entry requirement. An accessible alternative should explain the discoveries for people who cannot use a visual exploration interface or do not want to search.

Define completion without manufacturing compulsion

Offer a clear endpoint and avoid making important information conditional on repeated attempts, payment or long sessions. If rewards are involved, use transparent terms and appropriate review. For an early creative test, recognition or a useful downloadable guide may be sufficient. The value of the mechanism should come from meaningful exploration, not from exploiting uncertainty about whether another attempt will finally produce a desirable prize. Ask whether the discoveries feel rewarding even without a prize, since that is a useful test of the underlying creative value.

A small test for another brief

Proposed adaptation: build a simple illustrated launch scene with four optional discoveries, each explaining one feature of a fictional creative tool, plus a complete text overview.

Measure feature comprehension, voluntary exploration and whether the additional layer improves recall compared with a static overview. Record confusion and accessibility problems separately from time spent. A long visit is not automatically a better experience.

Stop if the design withholds essential information, encourages excessive repeat attempts or introduces paid chance-based rewards.

• Use original assets and no protected game characters.
• Make every explanation available without completing a challenge.
• Include keyboard navigation, reduced motion and a visible finish point.