The Third Place has the distinction of being the very first PlayStation 2 ad and was shot over two days by art house filmmaker David Lynch. Famously, the original was  shot in colour, but when Sony’s execs insisted that the ad be in black and white, Lynch disassociated himself with it. Apparently, the ad was the result of 18 months of focus group testing and was the only idea that appealed. To this day no one knows what it means.

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Playstation 2 – The Third Place – David Lynch
by YforYerom

This genius ad, where golfers are hunted by pornstars on the plains of Africa, was one of a series and was actually inspired by various sketches that appeared in British comedy show, Big Train. When we say ‘inspired’, the creators of Big Train actually considered suing over the ads. They didn’t but if you were to see the original sketches, you’d know why.

Playstation 2 – Pornstars
by YforYerom

Chris Cunningham’s PS2 ad (he of Aphex Twin video fame) is remarkable because a) it’s a simple yet striking idea and b) so many people hate it. At the time there was debate as to whether the girl’s look was real or had been ‘enhanced’ with visual effects. It turned out that the latter was true.

PlayStation 2 – Mental Wealth
by YforYerom

Arguably the greatest PlayStation ad of all time was the inspirational, award-winning Double Life. It was the first videogames ad that depicted people from all walks of life as gamers; the first mass market videogames ad, if you like. Sony, just run it again and put a PS3 logo at the end, would you?

Playstation 2 – Double Life
by YforYerom

This advert from France was made to promote a PlayStation 2 price cut. Unsurprisingly, it was banned before making it to air but, thanks to the internet, lives on.

Pub Francaise PlayStation 2
by skipasspa

Technically this one shouldn’t be here as it’s not a Sony original. The Wolfman was a six-minute animation created by Tim Hope and first shown on Channel 4 in 1999. You can see it here. Sony simply took a section of Tim’s animation and tagged a logo on the end of it. Still, it makes for a brilliant PS2 ad.

Playstation 2 – Wolfman
by YforYerom

And we leave the final word to The Grim Show, a brilliant demonstration on how to sell a first-person shooter to the Japanese. Sony, we salute you.

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