It's Thinking: An Interview With Brian Bacino - The Man Behind The Iconic Dreamcast Slogan

The Dreamcast's North American launch was one of the most successful console launches of all time. It boasted a line up of games that was unmatched in terms of variety and quality, and an air of untouchable swagger and confidence swirled around Sega that hadn't been seen since the days of the Genesis. Key to the success of the Dreamcast's introduction to the lucrative American market was undoubtedly the bombastic and memorable advertising campaign that supported the console.

The iconic 'It's Thinking' TV commercials and the memorable launch date of 9.9.99 were powerful weapons in Sega's arsenal when waging a marketing war against Sony and Nintendo for consumer dollars. However, these two components of marketing collateral did not come about by pure coincidence. They were thoughtfully constructed prongs of the same pincer movement strategy, and arguably helped to propel the Dreamcast into millions of American homes in those first few months post launch.

Here, in an exclusive interview we talk to Brian Bacino, the man behind the North American advertising campaign. As former Creative Director at respected advertising house Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB) of San Francisco, Brian was instrumental in the creation of the Dreamcast brand and the system's early success...

DCJY: Brian, first allow me to thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. The Dreamcast console really was a game-changer when it was released (pun intended!) and still holds a dear place in the hearts of a lot of gamers. To kick things off, could you give us a brief description of what your role was at FCB and specifically with the Sega Dreamcast commercials?

Brian Bacino: Hi Tom – thanks, I’m totally psyched to talk about the Dreamcast launch. It was an epic adventure in advertising, full of drama, plot twists and explosions! I was FCB San Francisco’s SVP Group Creative Director/Writer in charge of the launch and roll out of The Sega Dreamcast. My partner, Steve Fong, and I conceived and created the ‘It’s Thinking’ campaign and the ‘Apocalypse’ launch film – heralded in 1999 by several video game magazines as “the most epic video game commercial ever created!” Steve and I would not argue.

16 Years, Still Thinking...

The 16th birthday of the NTSC-U Dreamcast is upon us. 16 years of awesome. Yes, it's an inanimate plastic object...but let's all wish the Dreamcast a Happy Birthday regardless!

If you'd like to read a bit more about the NTSC-U Dreamcast, check out our recent look at the different styles of US packaging here.

Why Don't We Play Together?

The American Dreamcast launch has gained something of a mythical status in this zeitgeist period of celebratory retro-overindulgence. The whole 9.9.99 campaign was a major success as far as console launches went up until that point, and the advertising slogan (It's Thinking) was a fairly interesting tagline that implied that the system was so advanced that it could become self aware at any moment, unhook itself from the TV and bludgeon you to death with an iron while you slept soundly in your cosy warm bed. Happily, reports of this type of occurence were swept under the rug by Sega of America's black ops dept and so life just went on as normal for the vast majority of us. The UK release of the Dreamcast was intended for the first half of September 1999, but due to British Telecom's testing of the Dreamcast network running over deadline, the system didn't launch until October. That's not really relevant here though - what I want to look at in this post is the marketing stategy Sega Europe employed in place of the mighty 'It's Thinking' campaign waged by their US colleagues. The story behind the Dreamcast's various UK and EU advertising campaigns is a muddled one, and involves a plethora of different agencies fighting for a slice of Sega's reported £60m marketing war chest.

This man will happily eat your soul. With Cianti.

The Dreamcast Junkyard blasts into orbit with the SEGAbits Swingin' Report Show podcast!

The Dreamcast Junkyard writers Tomleecee and The Gagaman joined me (Barry the Nomad) and my co-host George on the SEGAbits Swingin' Report Show podcast to discuss the SEGA Dreamcast from a European fan's perspective. Topics include UK marketing, the delayed launch, games exclusive to the region, the official and unofficial magazines, the collecting scene, and Tom and Aaron’s thoughts on the US release. We also have a discussion on SEGA’s decision to change the red swirl to blue, and which region had the best box art. Believe it or not, this is the first time Tom, Aaron, and myself have all talked to each other outside of comment sections and emails.

Make sure to follow Tomleecee and The Gagaman on Twitter, and make sure to visit RetroCollect and Lucky Hit!

Happy Birthday!

Where do the years go? Today (the 9th of September) marks 15 years since the launch of the Dreamcast in the USA. 15 glorious years of grinding GD-Rom drives, whirring fans and beeping VMUs. So, please join us in wishing our favourite system a very happy 15th birthday!

I know they're NTSC-J boxes in the background. Before you say anything ^_^

Please accept my apologies for the quality of this image - I knocked it up in about 5 minutes flat before I rushed out to work!

Incidentally, who knew the US Dreamcast shared a birthday with Leo Tolstoy, Hugh Grant and Gok Wan? Or the deathday (kind of like a birthday, but a bit more deathy) of William the Conqueror? If you take one thing away from owning a Dreamcast and reading this site, you will now always know that William the Conqueror died on the 9th September. On a more personal level, the 9th September is also the birthday of my girlfriend's mother and also my sister. The Dreamcast Junkyard: entertaining and educating the masses since 9/9/1087AD.

The Dreamroom Dreamcast Marathon returns on 9/9 at 9am ET!

From 2009 to 2011 here at the 'yard, I hosted the Dreamroom - a SEGA Dreamcast marathon celebrating the console's memorable American launch date. Since 2011, however, the Dreamroom remained locked. I knew I wanted to host another, but I was busy with work and my increasing duties at SEGAbits. Not to mention, I didn't think aiming a webcam at the TV cut it as a live stream anymore.

This year, however, I'm excited to announce that the Dreamroom is reopening on 9/9 at 9am ET at the SEGAbits SEGA Channel Retro Twitch channel for a special 8 to 9 hour marathon of Dreamcast games streaming directly from the console! Yes, I've finally caught up with streaming technology.

Hope to see DCJY regulars there as we celebrate 15 years of the SEGA Dreamcast!

Dreamroom 2010 Postgame Show

 For those who missed the action yesterday, check out all ten hours of my stream available to view for another week as well as Gagaman's stream which currently has his four hours of gameplay on loop.

Another year, another loop added to the Dreamcast's swirl. As I stepped outside this morning, after a day of Dreamcast gaming, I realized that I hadn't stepped outside the entire previous day! Still, it was all worth it and I'd gladly do it all again next year. In fact, I will do it all again next year! Until then, let's reminisce on something that happened 24 hours ago...

The fun began when the always awesome Gagaman made a wise last minute decision to begin the party early with Dreamroom 2010 UK. He even made a cool version of my logo to go with it, blue swirl and all! Gagaman played a variety of games, from Japanese oddities to SEGA Marine Fishing.

A real man's game.

After a good four hours of fun (which you can still watch) things switched over to my feed (which you can also still watch). During the ten plus hours that I played, a good number of visitors popped in including Junkyard favorites Gagaman, Stacey (who is actually the inspiration for the game 18 Wheeler!), Caleb, Tom (he stopped into Gagaman's stream), BIGMercenary, A Moomintroll and SEGAbits regulars Crackdude, Fluffy and Cube. The first portion of the day saw Sonic Adventure, a good number of demos, Rent-A-Hero, Rayman 2, a complete auto playthrough of Space Channel 5 (best ending ever), Cool Cool Toon, 18 Wheeler, Zombie Revenge, Sonic Adventure 2,  Tokyo Bus Guide, Ecco, Super Magnetic Neo (ARGH!) and Tech Romancer.

Words to live by.

A Dreamcast rug in Rent-A-Hero!

The second half saw a visit from my good IRL friend and Dreamcast fan Jason. Those on the chat were in awe that two Dreamcast fans could exist in the same city and know each other. To prove Jason's cred, I'll let you all know that he brought his own Dreamcast controller (red) with VMU, cable extender, maracas and games. We played a good number of 2 player games including Capcom vs. SNK, Last Blade 2, SEGA Rally 2, Star Wars Demolition, Rush Rush Rally Racing and an hour and a half of Samba de Amigo. Best. Game. Ever.

Tougher than it looks.

After 90 minutes of maraca shaking, I was beat and so I called it a night. The Dreamcast was shut off and yet it still retained a warmth that surly was due to the love it felt for all the fans who remembered its birthday. Okay, so it was actually hot due to ten hours of use, but I still think love played a small part.

Until 9/9/2011!

The Dreamroom Returns - Streaming Live on 9/9!

I'm happy to announce that the Dreamroom will return for the Dreamcast's 11th birthday! The official date and times are as follows:

September 9th, 2010 

12am-11pm EST (US), 6pm-5am GMT (UK) 

Last year was a blast, and I'm sure this year will be just as fun. For those who missed last year's Dreamroom, essentially it will be eleven hours of Dreamcast gaming streamed live online with live chat. The first half will be me going solo playing Dreamcast games. During the second half the IRL party kicks off with whoever I invited showing up for multiplayer games and the occasional visit to Seaman.

Games will be played from my library, and requests are welcomed! Expect to see some of the best, worst and delightfully oddest Dreamcast games. Of course a Dreamcast birthday party isn't a birthday party without the guests, so I hope to see everyone (virtually) there!