That Unforgettable Sony Bravia TV ad: How Training My Eye Led to an Unexpected Win

What’s the Point

The things you study with real curiosity will find their way back to you. Training your eye is not a task. It is a way of moving through the world. You show up for the work, and the work shows up for you.

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Back in 2005 or 2006, Sony kept dropping these wild TV commercials to sell Bravia televisions. They were all about color. One of them, maybe the second, focused on paint. A building in the UK. Not quite the projects, but a cluster of buildings. They blasted paint like fireworks until it started raining color. The slogan was “color like no other,” which felt right.Another spot might have been the first. They took 250,000 bouncy balls and sent them flying through a specific neighborhood in San Francisco. I loved that commercial. The song was beautiful. There was a moment where a frog shows up. When I watched the behind the scenes later, they said they staged that. It did not matter. It was beautiful.

I shared the link, blogged about it, told everyone I knew. This was 2005. I was living in Orlando. I had just graduated from Full Sail and landed my first industry job. To keep my eyes sharp, I watched everything I could. Great commercials, short films, anything that trained me to tell the difference between good and bad by simply looking. I still do that. I will buy a coffee and flip through magazines at Barnes and Noble just to keep my visual instincts awake.

Fast forward ten years. I am back in New York. Walking around the West Village, gallery hopping. Opening night. They do it in Chelsea, Tribeca, and the West Village. The wine starts flowing. People of all creative ages and backgrounds show up to look at art. I am passing through on my way home when a woman stops me and says, “If you give us your email, you could win some art.” Say less. I write my email, go home, and do not think about it.

A few days later, an email lands. “Hey, that art. You won it.” Say less. I go back to the gallery, they hand me the work, I open it, and realize exactly what I am looking at. It is three photographs. A triptych. A scene from the commercial. My favorite commercial. The photography is by Peter Funch, signed. I am still blown away. I obsessed over that commercial in 2005, and a decade later, it falls in my lap for free.

Take the shot. You never know you.

Building the Project / Process

Keep your eyes sharp. In Orlando, fresh out of Full Sail and in my first industry job, I treated watching as training. Commercials, short films, anything top shelf. The practice was simple. Consume excellent work and teach yourself to feel what is good and what is off.
Study the edges. The Sony Bravia series was visual poetry about color. Paint blasting across buildings until it rained color. Bouncy balls racing down San Francisco streets. A frog cameo that turned out to be staged. The craft behind the magic mattered because it showed intention in every frame.
Document your obsessions. I shared the link, blogged, and told people. That act of pointing at what moved me cemented the learning. Teaching what you love is part of practicing what you love.
Keep the habit alive. Years later in New York, I was still doing reps. Gallery nights in the West Village, Chelsea, and Tribeca. Openings with wine, strangers, and new work. Barnes and Noble flips with a coffee. All of it is the same muscle.
Invite luck in. I wrote my email down for a raffle and walked away. Then the email hit. I won. A triptych by Peter Funch, signed, pulled from my favorite commercial. Ten years between study and surprise. That is what consistent practice does. It puts you in the path of unexpected returns.

Triptych - Bravia Commercial Print — Triptych – Bravia Commercial Print

Lessons in Collaboration

Respect the invisible crew. That frog shot did not just happen. Someone thought it through. Honor the people behind the beauty and you will learn how to build beauty with others.
Share your references early. When you are working with collaborators, show them the pieces that shape your taste. Great outcomes start with a shared visual language.
Practice in public. Blog the work you love. Talk about it. When your circle knows your eye, the right projects and people have a reason to find you.
Show up where the work lives. Openings, screenings, bookstores. Put your body in the spaces where creative energy is moving. Collaboration often starts with a casual hello.
Leave room for surprise. Not every move has to be strategic. Put your name in the bowl. Say yes to the unknown. Serendipity is a teammate when you are consistent.