Sony used air mortars to shoot 250,000 bouncy balls down San Francisco hills for a commercial instead of using CGI
Wednesday, 12 Mar 2025
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The shoot broke $74,000 worth of windows š [https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/san-francisco-sony-bouncy-ball-ad-20204385.php](https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/san-francisco-sony-bouncy-ball-ad-20204385.php)
and introduced me (and a lot of people) to Jose Gonzalez
I hope they picked all that shit up after
To be honest at the time I thought it was a great commercial… damn I feel old
I understand there are still loads of balls flying everywhere in San Francisco.
[Here is that video](https://youtu.be/0_bx8bnCoiU)
and only 117,718 were found….
I wonder how many of those werenāt retrieved and ended up in the ocean. Great job!
This and the paintbombing a Glasgow council estate were such a flex for Sony back in the day.
“Paint”: https://youtu.be/_qutXN13pRc?si=Yn7DdbjcX-n2Lkft
“Balls”: https://youtu.be/0_bx8bnCoiU?si=Fr-Vhp0cUprA3KAW
i’m sure the hippies loved that and then hated that
The poor PA that had to clean those up.
How the heck did that get approved?
I don’t think this is a good idea
Sony Bravia. They also did one where they blew up a bunch of colored paint at an apartment complex that was scheduled for demolition, and another where they threw colored spools of thread down one of the pyramids. Super cool ad campaigns back in the day.
Residents are going to be spending the next decade fishing bouncy balls out of nooks and crannies in their yards.
“Microplastics everywhere!!”
[tango version](https://youtu.be/J9piCGAGRzk?si=7zmjyE3m41E1n7Oc)
That would probably have been really really expensive to do using CGI in 2005 and it wouldn’t have looked anywhere near as good.
The music by Jose Gonzalez was awesome though
Whereās the source that says they used air mortars? Because in that image the balls are clearly being dropped by a rig. Thereās even two guys with ropes to pull to release them.
Amazing and beautiful in 2010. Environmental terrorism in 2025.
Imagine having to do a retake
The ad https://youtu.be/0_bx8bnCoiU?si=IBpP5kimB0awuVA5
Luigi
This is an instance where CGI would have been appropriate.
Mmmm I can taste the micro plastics
As dope as this commercial was, how on earth did it ever get approved.
Honestly, this seems like a choking hazard for pets and small children
Can never have too much microplastics.
The stupidity of this on every level is wild.
This was such an awesome commercial.
damn that sounds bad for the environment
Shot with frog jumping from gutter was perfect and un scripted. Probably frog died horrific death killed by thousands balls.
I remember that commercial, great music.
Unleash the dogs