PlayStation advert- Mental Wealth - 1999 - -20YearsOfPlay
"Alien Girl" my butt.
Alien Girl is a European television commercial for the original PlayStation console. It aired in 1999.
Advert[]
Warning: This "cursed" commercial contains a creepy atmosphere. Don't watch this right before you sleep.
A braided-pigtailed alien-looking girl is shown taking a seat in what looks like an interview room, and proceeds to discuss to the viewer her opinion on human endeavor and stating she prefers her way of thinking known as mental wealth, and how people can reach their destinies if they think like this. As the PlayStation logo appears, she starts profusely giggling while smiling at somebody off-screen.
Transcript[]
Alien Girl: [she takes a seat] Let me tell you what bugs me of the human endeavor. I've never been a human in question, have you? Mankind went to the moon. [folds her arms; sounding irate] I don't even know where Grimsby is. Forget progress by proxy. Land on your own moon. It's no longer about what they can achieve out there on your behalf. But what we can experience...[points to her head]...up here and of our own time, and it's called mental wealth. [looks to her left and starts to smile and giggle; the PlayStation logo and the text "Do not underestimate the power of PlayStation", as well as the website, appear over the footage]
Why It's Cursed[]
Lots of viewers were put off by the alien girl's appearance and cryptic message regarding her frustrations back when it first aired and said fear continued with new viewers. For some though, her posh sounding Scottish accent can somewhat tone it back. Besides the fact that this has nothing to do with the product.
Trivia[]
- The director of this advert was Chris Cunningham, best known for his music videos for Aphex Twin's songs such as "Windowlicker" and the Rubber Johnny short. He is known for his signature unsettling themes.
- The actress is Fiona MacLaine.
- In addition to the original English version, various multilanguage versions were made for other European markets as actual separate takes featuring her again including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch (though the Dutch version used a short version of the English version with localized subtitles).