PSP Getting Half-Pint Kevin Butler As Spokesperson

Sony is about to ramp up PSP promotion with a new series of TV commercials and Kevin Butler-like spokesperson. We said Kevin Butler “like” because Sony isn’t using the fictional PlayStation 3 figurehead for PSP ads. Deutsch LA, the company behind the Kevin Butler campaign, invented a new character, 12-year-old PSP Fanboy Marcus Rivers.

In what appears to be the first ad in the series, Marcus meets Kevin Butler who is the “VP of everything PlayStation.” He asks Butler, in the commercial, why they aren’t talking about the PSP. Before Butler can answer, Marcus rants about how he can’t rule the school bus and “noob kids” are talking about playing games on phones. He then tells Butler “PSP needs a hero, a hustler” and gets the job.

Another ad where Marcus is “Deputy of Sibling Relations”, the PSP Fanboy promotes ModNation Racers and dumps on mobile phone games… again. The set up is an older brother steals a younger brother’s PSP to play ModNation Racers.

There’s even a Marcus ad for Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker where Marcus says, “This ain’t like the cartoon games your 6 year old cousin plays. It’s a full sized Metal Gear exclusive on your PSP.” A far cry from the kid in a cardboard box commercials in Japan. The $9.99 PSP game line up report we posted last week is also a Marcus ad where the squirt is “Deputy of Unbelievable Game Deals.”

All of the ads end with “step your (insert phrase) up, step your (another phrase) up, step your game up.” In the case of Peace Walker, it’s “step your stealth up, step your story up, step your game up.”

This slate of ads shows us Sony hasn’t given up on pushing PSP, but they are actively rebranding and targeting the platform at teens.