Kevin Butler (character)

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Kevin Butler
It Only Does Everything commercials
Long Live Play commercials character
Kevin Butler.jpg
Kevin Butler as he appears in "It Only Does 256 Players/Relentless War"
First appearance Dustin vs. PlayStation
Created by Sony Computer Entertainment
Portrayed by Jerry Lambert
Information
Gender Male
Occupation Vice President of various departments of PlayStation

Kevin Butler (portrayed by actor Jerry Lambert) was a marketing character used by Sony Computer Entertainment America as part of their It Only Does Everything (2009–11) and Long Live Play (2011) advertising campaigns for the PlayStation 3 in North America.[1] He starred as the Vice President of various fictitious departments within the PlayStation division of Sony, responding to "Dear PlayStation" queries.[2] Due to the positive reception of the commercials, Sony extended them throughout the remainder of 2010[3] as well as into 2011. The character was created by Deutsch/LA, the advertising agency responsible for the campaign.[4] Deutsch/LA also manages Kevin Butler's Twitter account and wrote his E3 2010 speech.[5] Creative Circus graduates Will Lindberg and Mark Adler are responsible for creating the "Hall of Play" Facebook application to induct PlayStation gamers into the Hall of Play by Kevin Butler.[6]

Appearances

Kevin Butler first appeared in a 2009 ad for MLB 09: The Show called "Dustin vs. PlayStation" where he, the "Director of Game Accuracy", was debating the in-game abilities of Dustin Pedroia, 2008 AL MVP. He then appeared in another ad for the game called "Joe the Fan" discussing Pedroia's abilities with a fan named Joe Biancanellio, a Baseball Connoisseur.[7] These are the only two commercials not part of the It Only Does Everything campaign and featured the original model PS3 due to these two commercials being made before the slim model was released. The original PS3 model can also be seen in Kevin Butler's "Artist Spotlight" for ModNation Racers.

The first commercial in the It Only Does Everything campaign began with the price drop and rebranding of the PS3 where the "Director of Rumor Confirmation", Kevin Butler, responded to a call in regards to a rumor about the PS3 price drop. Kevin Butler has since appeared in many additional commercials.[3] On June 15, 2010, he made a live appearance at Sony's E3 press conference promoting the PlayStation Move and gaming in general. He revealed on his Twitter account that he has a college degree in M.B.A., Master of Being Awesome.[8] In the "What Are You Waiting For?" commercial, it is shown that Kevin Butler has his own RV called "The PlayStation VP-ehicle" and he put the PlayStation Move to the ultimate test by spending 90 days in the Maguire family's house.[9]

For the 2009 holiday season, Kevin Butler teamed up with Best Buy employee Nick DeVita from New York to promote a PS3 Best Buy bundle. They have since teamed up to promote PS3 Best Buy bundles for the consequent holiday seasons in 2010 and 2011.

On August 26, 2011, Butler told his Twitter followers "KB's off to be PRESIDENT of my uncle's new upstart company" which was later revealed to be fictional "Economy Flooring". This led to the launch of a new marketing campaign, Long Live Play, to succeed the It Only Does Everything marketing campaign. The first commercial in the Long Live Play campaign began with Butler as President, Economic Flooring, until he receives a call from Jack Tretton, President of Sony Computer Entertainment America, to return to PlayStation.[1]

On October 27, 2011 (until Thanksgiving 2011), as part of the Long Live Play campaign, Kevin Butler opened the "Hall of Play" inducting PlayStation gamers into the Hall of Play through Facebook.[10] As part of a DLC pack for LittleBigPlanet Karting, players who pre-order the game will receive a Kevin Butler Sackboy Costume and Executive Golf Cart.[11]

Titles

He has a different title in each commercial (except the two MLB 11: The Show commercials, the Resistance 3 and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception commercials), such as "Director of Rumor Confirmation" or "VP of First Person Shooter Relations".[12] In his YouTube Channel, he notes that he is "PlayStation VP of... Lots of Stuff." [13] In the PlayStation Move commercials, instead of responding to "Dear PlayStation" queries, Kevin Butler has "Dear World" queries about motion gaming. In the "EyePet, There's a New Pet in Town" commercial, he has a "Dear Puppies" query for puppies. In the video announcing the launch of video streaming on PlayStation 3 in Canada, he referred to Canadians as "Canadese".

There have also been some unofficial titles given to him. At E3 2010, for example, when Gabe Newell came out to present Portal 2 on the PlayStation 3, Newell made a joke stating that Kevin Butler had introduced himself backstage as the "VP of Sharpening Things" which is why Newell seemed nervous.

Game promotions
Year Title Game Tagline
2009 Director of Game Accuracy [7] MLB 09: The Show "Dustin vs. PlayStation"
"Joe the Fan"
VP of Big Action Moments [14] Uncharted 2: Among Thieves It Only Does Action/Multi-Player
Chief Weaponologist [15] Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time It Only Does Time Travel/Crazy Weapons
2010 VP of First Person Shooter Relations [16] MAG It Only Does 256 Players/Relentless War
VP of PS3 Softball Team [17] MLB 10: The Show It Only Does The Show/Realism/Walk-Offs
Regional Manager of War [18] God of War III It Only Does Epic Trilogies/Vengeance/Rage
VP of Inspiration & Perspiration [19] ModNation Racers It Only Does Race, Create, Share/Track Creations/Parties
VP of Virtual Pet Relations [20] EyePet "There's a New Pet in Town"
VP of Family Showdowns [21] Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 "Distractions"; It Only Does Family Showdowns
VP of Add More Awesome [22] Gran Turismo 5 It Only Does Revolutionary Racing Experiences/1000+ Cars
2011 VP of Infinite Infinity [23] LittleBigPlanet 2 It Only Does Endless Fun
VP of The Cold Hard Truth [24] Killzone 3 It Only Does Multiplayer
No VP title for this ad
Joe Mauer vs. Kevin Butler: MLB 11 The Show-down [25]		 MLB 11: The Show It Only Does Pure Controls
No VP title for this ad
Kevin Butler Trashes Your Talk [26][27]		 Kevin Butler's S.H.A.F.T. Method (Specific, Hurtful, Accents, Frequency, Tijuana)
VP of Silent But Deadly [28] SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs It Only Does Tactical Strategy/Teamwork
VP of Heroic Actions [29] inFamous 2 It Only Does New Heroes
No VP title for this ad
Parody of Mel Gibson in Braveheart [30]		 Resistance 3 First Long Live Play commercial for a PS3 game
No VP title for this ad
Grab The Ring [31]		 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Second Long Live Play commercial for a PS3 game
TV promotions
Year Title TV promotion Tagline/Notes
2009 Director of Rumor Confirmation [32] PlayStation 3 Price drop to $299 USD It Only Does Games/Blu-ray/Everything
VP of Enough is Enough [32] "Candle" It Only Does PlayStation Home/Movie Downloads/Epic Fun
Family Activities Director [33] "Desperate Dad" It Only Does Family Togetherness/Family Games/Blu-ray
VP of Epic Footage [15] "Mon Tage" It Only Does Great Games/All-Nighters/Blu-ray Games
VP of Blu-ray Superiority [34] "Grandma" It Only Does Blu-ray Movies/Wi-Fi
VP of Big Deal Deal Making [35] 2009 Best Buy Bundle - a PS3, a select PS3 game, and a select Blu-ray movie "BOOM!"; It Only Does Unbelievable HD Entertainment Bundles
2010 VP of Fanboy Relations [36] New PSP campaign Kevin Butler interviews Marcus Rivers for Step Your Game Up PSP campaign
VP of Epic Gaming for All [9] "Epic" PlayStation Move promo
VP of Family Funterventions [9] "What Are You Waiting For?" PlayStation Move promo
Gift Giving Guru [37] "Conundrum" It Only Does Gifts for the Whole Family/Blu-ray
Family Whisperer [37] "Fake TV Family" It Only Does Gifts for the Whole Family/Free Access
Boombassador of Deals [38] 2010 BestBuy Bundle - a PS3, Gran Turismo 5, Grown Ups on Blu-ray, and a select BRAVIA HDTV It Only Does Unstoppable Deals
2011 First Person Sensei [24] PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter It Only Does Sharp Shooter
President, Economic Flooring[1] PlayStation 3 Price Drop to $249 USD First Long Live Play commercial
VP of Bringin' It in 3D [39] 2011 Best Buy Bundle - PlayStation 3D Display and a PS3 Players can get a PS3 for $100 USD when they purchase a PlayStation 3D Display
VP of All or Nothing [40] PlayStation 3D Display Kevin Butler's latest gaming innovation: SimulView TM
Web (Twitter, PlayStation.Blog, YouTube, etc.)
Year Title Web Notes
2010 VP of Apologetic Apologies [41] Twitter Via a Twitter tweet on the PSN being down for 24 hours.
VP of Realistic Movements [42] YouTube Promo for the PlayStation Move; It Only Does Fun/Immersion
VP of Artistic Modification [43] PlayStation.Blog Artist Spotlight for ModNation Racers, stars alongside Jack Tretton, CEO of SCEA
VP of Soiling Oneself in Excitement [44] Twitter Via a Twitter tweet about Killzone 3
VP of Still Got It Twitter Via a Twitter tweet
VP of International Diplomacy [45] PlayStation.Blog Kevin Butler's response to New Zealand's TV3 montage TV promo
VP of Being Teased [46] Twitter Via a Twitter tweet about Resistance 3
VP of Shaking What His Mother Gave Him [47] Twitter Via a Twitter tweet about SingStar Dance
VP of Yes We Canada [48] PlayStation.Blog It Only Does Movies; Kevin Butler announces Video Streaming in Canada
VP of Auditory Opinions [49] PlayStation Yay Buttons PlayStation Move website
2011 No VP Title
Kevin Butler Comes to Facebook [50]		 YouTube Kevin Butler announces he's now on Facebook and has something big planned (the "Hall of Play")
Unofficial titles
Year Title Source Notes
2010 VP of Micro-Minigames [51] LittleBigPlanet "Kevin Butler Ware" LittleBigPlanet level
VP of Sharpening Things [52] E3 2010 Gabe Newell's E3 2010 presentation of Portal 2
VP of Tweeting [53] New PSP campaign Huge Gamer's article on Kevin Butler hiring Marcus Rivers as PSP publicist
VP of Gamer Inspiration [54] E3 2010 Kotaku Australia's article about Kevin Butler's E3 2010 appearance
VP of Explosions [55] PlayStation Move Game Rant's article about Kevin Butler's PlayStation Move "Epic" commercial
2011 VP of Guest Characters [56] Capcom Unity Capcom Senior VP Christian Svensson on whether or not Kevin would appear as a guest character on Street Fighter X Tekken.

Hall of Play

The Hall of Play is a fictional Hall of Fame that honors PlayStation gamers as part of Sony's Long Live Play campaign. The Hall of Play opened on October 27, 2011 with a Kevin Butler version of PlayStation's "To Michael" commercial (Kevin Butler was praised and his picture was shown at the end instead of Michael's). Kevin Butler began inducting various gamers every week day into the Hall of Play on November 1, 2011 until Thanksgiving (November 24, 2011).[10] Although Kevin Butler no longer personally inducts gamers with their own induction video, PlayStation gamers can still be inducted by Butler through PlayStation's Facebook page app (hallofplay.com) where Kevin Butler walks players through the Hall of Play and has players recite the Hall of Play oath. Players are then treated to their own version of the "To Michael" commercial, with their name being praised and a picture of themselves in the place of Michael's picture.

Kevin Butler's Induction video PlayStation gamer(s)
PlayStation "To Michael" Kevin Butler version [57] Kevin Butler
Adoption [58] Nychus13
Manp-stamp [59] MotherBoop
Platinum [60] Legion_Dragon
Teamwork [61] DirkTheDaring
Butler Time [62] Legit_Btness
The Ballad of GraveyardBoots [63] GraveyardBoots
Party [64] DKLincol
Blood, Sweat, and Tears [65] KChow23
Jersey [66] APickledEgg
Heroes [67] TheBigIrish1138
Toast [68] Siloeyes and Okeneko
Sidekick [69] Frometheus
Marmalade [70] Himeshinra
Blades [71] WithoutAFace
Father and Son [72] Vurma and Yutlord22
Cake [73] Kailsen
Future President [74] IDoGigs
Fireworks [75] BRWCRW19
Thanksgiving [76] gamers everywhere

Controversies

In one of his first commercials, in response to a rumor monger questioning a then-confirmed price drop for the PlayStation 3, he says, "You can't believe everything you read on the Internet. Otherwise, I'd be a Nigerian millionaire by now." This prompted Nigeria's Minister of Information and Communication, Professor Dora Akunyili, to demand an apology from Sony, calling the commercial an "unwarranted attack on the reputation and image of the country." In response, Sony promptly issued an apology to the Nigerian government and immediately pulled the commercial from the air.[77] A few days later, Sony replaced the commercial with an edited version, changing the original line to, "You can't believe everything you read on the Internet. That's how World War I got started."[78]

In July 2010, New Zealand television station TV3 ran an advertisement for "Something big on Monday nights". Gaming website ButtonMasher accused TV3 of directly ripping off the "Mon-Tage, It Only Does All-Nighters/Blu-ray Games" commercial.[79] Kevin Butler replied via Twitter: "Dear TV3: You could have at least put my photo on top of the amp. Sheesh." [80]

In January, 2011, Sony sued George Hotz and others, in part for publishing PS3's private keys[81] (which allows users to modify the system to run customized or unofficial software). On 9 February 2011, a post was published on Kevin Butler's Twitter account containing an earlier dongle key. The post was made in reply to another user who tweeted the code to @TheKevinButler in an attempt to mock Sony's threat that they'd prosecute anyone who "posts the PlayStation 3 private key"[82] Kevin Butler replied, appearing to mistake the code for a series of coordinates in the game Battleship, joking "Lemme guess... you sank my Battleship?" and copying the original message in his reply. The post was later deleted from the @TheKevinButler Twitter account.[83]

On September 11, 2012, Sony sued Lambert for "trademark infringement" due to his appearance in a Bridgestone commercial that featured the Wii as part of a sales promotion.[84] They settled four months later, with Lambert agreeing not to appear in video game advertisements for two years.[85]

Reception

The string of commercials starring Kevin Butler has been met with positive acclaim due to its humorous and lively tone. Gaming site Kotaku commented on the first two commercials that were released, "What we didn't mention is how funny they are."[2] Sony Computer Entertainment America Senior Vice President Peter Dille said that the commercials have "been tremendously successful. Consumers love it. It's great to hear people like you guys love it. And the results are really in the sales because it's really been flying since this coincided in September with the launch of the new PS3."[3] Engadget also loved the commercials saying, "We have to hand it to Sony, they've followed up nicely on their "worst kept secret" trade show jokes with an ad campaign that is fittingly self-aware".[86] Destructoid praised the commercials, saying that they were much better than Sony's previous White Room series of ads, which was met with mostly negative reception, with most calling it "creepy."[87] When Butler appeared at E3 2010, he was met with large praise from the audience.

Peter Dille, (real) VP of Marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America, stated that they have received contacts from media, requesting an interview with Butler, not realizing he isn't a real person.[88]

NPR has named a sandwich in his honor.[89] The sandwich, a double bacon cheeseburger sandwiched in between two Monte Cristos was based on a remark that was made by the fictional executive.[90]

His catchphrase "Well played, Mauer", from a series of commercials with 2009 AL MVP Joe Mauer, is widely quoted among baseball fans, and has been the subject of parodies and t-shirts. The clip is regularly played on the main video board at Target Field whenever Mauer makes a winning play, such as a hit or a home run.

See also

References

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External links

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