PlayStation has launched a striking Australian edition of its global “It Happens on PS5” campaign through Akcelo, EssenceMediacom and Apparition. Using immersive builds including a Brisbane “crashed spaceship,” Sydney tram wrap and Melbourne 3D mural, the work blends real-world environments with PS5-inspired fantasy—without using specific game IP.
PlayStation has always been known for pushing the boundaries of gaming, but its latest campaign in Australia takes that spirit of experimentation into the physical world. In a bold collaboration with creative agency Akcelo, media agency EssenceMediacom and production specialists Apparition Media, the brand has launched a localised version of its global “It Happens on PS5” platform in a way that blurs the line between digital immersion and real-world spectacle. The trio of partners set out to transform familiar urban spaces into portals of imagination, capturing the emotional charge of the PlayStation 5 experience without relying on the traditional gameplay footage or intellectual property that typically anchor gaming campaigns.
First launched globally to celebrate the memorable moments gamers have experienced since the PS5 debuted on November 12, 2020, the campaign has been adapted for the Australian market with an emphasis on physical installations and unexpected interventions. The idea, according to the agencies involved, was not simply to advertise the console, but to recreate the sense of awe associated with gaming’s most iconic moments and to stage them directly in front of people. Speaking to Mumbrella, Akcelo’s client partner, Oli Cassidy, explained that PlayStation approached the agency looking to localise the global strategy in a way that would resonate with Australian audiences, in environments that would allow for creative expansion.
After taking on the brief, Akcelo shaped the overarching concept, which would then be executed through a coordinated partnership with EssenceMediacom. The two agencies worked together to scout locations, assess environmental constraints and identify opportunities to bring the creative vision to life through custom-built structures and experiential installations. This meant searching for media assets that were not just high-visibility placements but physical canvases that could support large-scale, illusion-breaking builds. Apparition Media joined as the production partner, tasked with translating the imaginative designs into durable, functional and legally compliant physical forms.
Cassidy described the task as one of bridging global conceptual thinking with local creative reality. There was already a thematic foundation set by the global campaign, but the Australian execution needed a distinctive approach that could deliver impact on the streets. The core question that guided the team from the outset was: how can the immersive experiences of PlayStation—experiences that are fundamentally digital—be expressed and felt in the real world?
This challenge led the creative team to the idea of playing with the fourth wall. Rather than traditional out-of-home placements, the aim was to create installations that appeared to break through physical structures, suggesting the powerful and sometimes surreal moments that gamers encounter in virtual worlds. That meant stepping beyond standard advertising formats and designing interventions that felt like digital realities spilling into everyday life. Cassidy noted that striking a balance between paid advertising spaces and narrative-driven fourth-wall breaking elements was essential to holding the campaign together. The installations needed to be bold enough to disrupt public space, yet structured enough to satisfy the practicalities of media buying and city regulations.
Aden Hepburn, CEO of Akcelo, said the biggest hurdle was finding sites in Australia that could accommodate both the message and the build. There are very few locations across the country, he explained, that provide the flexibility to install a custom, immersive extension at the scale the campaign required. This constraint made the partnership between EssenceMediacom and Akcelo particularly critical. EssenceMediacom’s media expertise helped identify rare and unconventional spaces, while Akcelo’s creative vision mapped out how those spaces could be transformed.
Eventually, the search led the team to an ideal site in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane—a location that could support the complexity and visual ambition of the campaign’s centrepiece. The result was a dramatic installation featuring a large orange and steel grey spaceship that appeared to have crashed into the side of a building, emerging from a swirling blue portal. The effect was cinematic, resembling the kinds of otherworldly transitions players experience within games, yet entirely original in its storytelling. The spaceship did not belong to any existing game franchise. Instead, it was designed from scratch to evoke the broader universe of gaming while sidestepping intellectual property constraints.
EssenceMediacom Australia’s CEO, Pippa Berlocher, characterised the campaign as a deliberate push to use media in unexpected ways, creating epic and disruptive moments that represent the essence of the PlayStation 5 experience. Alongside the Brisbane installation, the Australian rollout includes a PlayStation-branded tram wrap in Sydney, a 3D mural extension in Melbourne and a digital creator-driven ecosystem amplifying the concept across social channels. Each element serves to extend the world of the installation while building a network of touchpoints that brings the immersive campaign to life across multiple cities.
The creative restrictions around IP presented a unique challenge. PlayStation does not own the rights to the individual games featured on its consoles, so the campaign could not directly reference specific franchises, characters or visual motifs. Hepburn explained that the creative teams had to build an entire aesthetic language that felt unmistakably linked to the universe of gaming without relying on recognisable elements. This required close collaboration with both PlayStation’s Australian team and the global brand team, ensuring that the work remained within legal boundaries while still capturing the essence of the PS5 experience.
Cassidy echoed this sentiment, noting that the creative exploration involved identifying genres and themes that would instantly resonate with gamers—science fiction, fantasy, inter-dimensional travel—without crossing into identifiable territory. The spaceship in Brisbane, for instance, feels familiar in the way many gaming worlds feel familiar, but it cannot be traced to any specific title. This design ambiguity was intentional, allowing audiences to interpret the installation through the lens of their own gaming experiences.
What appears easy to decode, Cassidy added, is actually carefully constructed to live slightly outside the literal worlds that gamers navigate. It draws from shared narrative archetypes rather than specific universes, creating a sense of immersion without replication. The effect is a campaign that feels deeply connected to gaming culture while remaining wholly original.
For PlayStation, the Australian partnership represents an ambitious attempt to bring the emotional power of its digital experiences into the real world. The result is a campaign that does not simply advertise a console but invites audiences to imagine what happens when virtual worlds press against the boundaries of everyday space. In breaking the fourth wall—both visually and conceptually—the campaign stages a playful collision between fiction and reality, reflecting the spirit of discovery that defines the PS5.
And for Akcelo, EssenceMediacom and Apparition Media, the collaboration demonstrates the creative possibilities that emerge when agencies combine their strengths across strategy, media, production and storytelling. The work underscores that even in an increasingly digital age, physical experiences can deliver some of the most powerful expressions of brand identity. Through bold design, unconventional thinking and meticulously engineered execution, the campaign offers a reminder that the thrill of gaming does not have to stay behind a screen.
