Embracing the Legacy of David Lynch: A Dive into His Unforgettable PS2 Commercials

In the wake of his tragic demise, David Lynch leaves behind an extraordinary collection of artistry: the seasons of Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive, and some surreal PS2 advertisements.

When the PS2 launched, Sony aimed for its newest console to convey a feeling of entering a dreamlike “Third Place” – eerily imaginative horror games such as Silent Hill 2 and Haunting Ground ultimately achieved this vision, leading Sony to enlist David Lynch for their promotional campaign.

The resulting advertisements are as unconventional as using a shattered teacup to explain why you might only ever pour hot water into porcelain: it’s all about the character.

In the early years of the gaming industry, advertisements were quite standard, like PlayStation’s branded flavored condoms, but Lynch took his PS2 commercials to quintessential Lynch levels. In other words, far beyond the monotony of bedroom drawers and somewhere behind the moon.

These ads buzz with a bizarre humor, the kind that reminds you of Twin Peaks’ wonderfully rich coffee and cherry pie, perched on countertops some distance from lifeless women in gloomy woods. The two brief segments flicker on and off like an unexpected peek at someone else’s mobile screen; ‘Bambi’ depicts an unfazed deer colliding with a vehicle and, contrary to expectations, smashing the vehicle into pieces, while ‘Rabbits’ features a dog twitching in its dreams, chasing after its ambitions, before collapsing and emitting a wheezy snore.

Perhaps the most striking of the series is ‘Welcome to the Third Place’, which features a minute of sirens and, ultimately, an unexpected release. A man encounters a woman floating in space as he strolls down a corridor, and she gestures for him to “shh!” Subsequently, he spots his doppelgänger beside him – or perhaps above him? – who gives him an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“Not awake, not asleep,” a voice crackles through a speaker as the man continues to glide. “Where are we?” The man’s head dislodges. It reattaches, but soon his arm floats away. Steam wafts from his missing hand as he locates his doppelgänger again – now seated on a couch alongside an anthropomorphic duck and a figure with one eye enveloped in a swollen, cumbersome body, reminiscent of a web ensnaring its prey.

“Welcome to the Third Place,” rasps the duck, which is briefly revealed in a behind-the-scenes documentation to be Lynch himself.

This documentary provides a glimpse of Lynch’s creative process. We observe him engaging with the enigma he’s crafted with the quiet delight of a bird soaring through a fluff of whipped cream. In one instance, he directs a fire effect to commence, and when it does, he exclaims without hesitation, “This is so fucking entertaining.”

“He’s expressed it himself,” former PlayStation European marketing director David Patton shares. “He’s been lingering in a ‘third place’ for quite some time.”

I’m revisiting my favorite obscure PS2 game and now I miss when movies