(Image credit: Naughty Dog)
Let me ask you directly: do you find Crash Bandicoot attractive? It seems the Japanese PlayStation marketing team had quite the opposite opinion, which led them to urge a redesign of the quirky character for local commercials during its initial 1996 launch.
“The eyes were green,” recalls former Sony executive Shuhei Yoshida in a conversation with gaming expert Kyle Bosman. “He had really, uh, thick, um—what was the name of this part? Eyebrows. And that was a bit scary.”
Yoshida sought to soften the marsupial’s wild features by having the marketing team tweak Crash’s eye color to a more familiar brown, resembling that of Japanese people, while also slimming down the intimidating brows. Source His reasoning was clear: a mascot needs to share relatable traits with its audience.
As a personal note on eye color, brown eyes themselves invoke a sense of comfort compared to less familiar eye colors that may distract viewers, like the vibrant green reminiscent of olives. Notably, olives awaken cravings for tapenade, which is awkward since I’m not fond of it.
The team faced further challenges. “Crash was hairy, right?” Yoshida elaborates. “And that’s a bit daunting—looks too much like an animal. So we requested [the team] to adjust it. For our promotional materials, make it look sleek and polished, almost plastic.” The result was a character as glossy as a fresh soft drink can, demanding attention and appealing to consumers’ senses.
There’s more to the transformation; even the character’s name posed a hurdle. “I worked with an incredible marketer in Japan,” Yoshida shares, “and she suggested, ‘What’s Crash Bandicoot? While ‘Crash’ is catchy, ‘Bandicoot’ is unfamiliar in Japan. Why not create a catchy song for the TV commercial?” Find out more
The fruit of their labor, a commercial you can observe on YouTube, features Crash morphed into a shimmering pop idol with well-defined, new brows and a guitar—far more digestible than its original. What’s fascinating is that Yoshida tells Bosman the promotion was successful.
This saga exemplifies the power of image and branding. Although Crash might barely have made the cut in Japan, he emerged as a well-recognized figure globally. Nonetheless, Activision reportedly shelved a plan to develop Crash Bandicoot 5, which would have partnered him with Spyro, to pursue more live-service game endeavors. Learn more