Commercials that work for European markets aren't always in-line with Nintendo of America's more traditional approach. Join us past the post break to sample a few of the edgier, more risqué TV adverts our friends across the Atlantic have been enjoying.
"The Power of the Finger"
Boy loves girl. Boy hijacks plane. 74 dead.
You can immediately see a number of items in this ad spot that would have concerned parents writing complaint letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), were it to air in the states. Near nudity, feces flinging, and violent vomiting rarely make an appearance on network television, unless you're watching Family Guy.
Nintendo of Europe was quite proud of the crass scenes: "This video is a blast. The hero of the ad [scores] a date with a cute hottie. And there's something for the ladies too, with a bunch of lads clowning around sans duds in the changing room. Freaky." It's really embarrassing when companies try to appeal to their teen audience with dated colloquialisms.
Interestingly, there are several variations on the commercial's closing message that we've seen. The montage above ends with "Play God," while other versions say, "Play Almighty," or leave out the phrase altogether. Perhaps the motto was considered too inappropriate or sacrilegious for some territories?
Like the changing room scene in the previous commercial, this Spanish ad has a lot more skin than what we're used to seeing in Nintendo ads. It's pretty funny to see the doltish character stuff the handheld into the side of his swim trunks before walking over to the comely young woman. We're surprised that she didn't run away right then.
Alas and alack, it was not meant to be for the mismatched couple! Brain Age doomed their relationship before it could even begin. If only there was some sort of training game that taught you how to interact with the opposite sex!
Everyone stays fully-clothed in these two "In touch with original comedy" pieces, both of them bumpers for the United Kingdom's Channel 4 comedy programs, but they're a lot more suggestive than the other commercials, and not to mention indecent. The men in these ad spots are completely unappealing; we can't imagine why anyone would ever want to touch them.
Though this Game Boy Micro commercial actually originated in North America (Canada), it's too infamous to not include in our write-up. The mouse's craving for the system is so intense, he actually scales the maze's walls to reunite with his love, immediately pulling it into his lustful embrace. How romantic!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-19-2007 @ 10:19PM
hvnlysoldr said...
Thanks for the great DS ads.
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8-19-2007 @ 11:59PM
Adv2k1 said...
i'm so jealous, europe gets much better ads than americans i can't remember the last ds ad i watched and liked
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8-20-2007 @ 12:43AM
Protospasm said...
I like that the co-pilot projectile vomits on the pilot.
It's just a game (system); why does the US have to be so serious? (Also... it's just innuendo. Shakespeare loved innuendo and he's high-brow; because Nintendo is fun, it doesn't have the IQ nor stature to play with innuendo. TOUCHING IS GOOD!)
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8-20-2007 @ 12:49AM
theLoneYoshi said...
Gotta love the US and Censorship... I bet if Nintendo of America even tried to create those ads, it'd be impossible to air them on any station...
OK... maybe not. There's those Axe and other Man-scent commercials that basically SCREAM sex that I've seen on many TV stations. I'd like to see Nintendo pull off one of those... It would be... interesting, to say the least.
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8-20-2007 @ 4:59AM
Kefka said...
Hahaha, those ads were brilliant! I'm yet to see any DS ads in Australia which are *interesting*, let alone amusing!
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8-20-2007 @ 7:27AM
jesus_bon_jovi said...
I "fixed" the 3rd (Touch It) video to better reflect current times... It HAD to be done...
Have a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeX2HX-2BeE
Please excuse the terrible video editing.. this is the first time i have used After Effects.. My masking and motion tracking sucks...
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8-20-2007 @ 7:42AM
ssuk said...
European and American markets need to be aproached in different ways for an advertising standard. To be honest, EU TV is a lot more tame than US TV, as a result we're used to more artsy adverts than ones that have a lot of action and hype.
@4: The UK Lynx (Axe) adverts are halarious, the new Man-Wash ones aren't too fantastic though...
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8-20-2007 @ 8:02AM
Sihylm said...
@7 Depends on your definition of tame really. In America a lot of stuff that flies in the EU, especially sexual stuff wouldn't be allowed on TV.
Germany is probably the best example of this, when channels which were showing children's cartoons in the morning suddenly start showing full blown pr0n movies after 11pm. But at the same time, Germany seems to have a siezure at the sight of blood in Media.
Very mixed barrel of fish.
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8-20-2007 @ 8:30AM
Middlemoor said...
I actually thought all of it was inappropriate except for the aeroplane part in the first ad, that's genius. We don't need sex to sell the DS. It's immature and you know it.
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8-20-2007 @ 6:33PM
Sonic_13 said...
THOSE WERE AWESOME!
Stupid FCC. They need to lighten up a little. We definitely need ads like these in the US.
The top two and the last one are the best.
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8-20-2007 @ 7:42PM
BPM said...
@jesus_bon_jovi:
Amatuer attempt or not, that was priceless! Seriously, great job.
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8-21-2007 @ 10:04AM
Mattias said...
For the record. The video referred to as Spanish must actually be Swedish. The girl speaks in Swedish in the end. A very different language from Spanish :) She says "Vad gör du, är du helt galen?" which translates to: "What are you doing, are you completely crazy?"
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8-21-2007 @ 10:39AM
Eric Caoili said...
#12 mattias
yes, the woman is swedish, and she is speaking in the Swedish language, but the commercial is without a doubt for Spain, advertising the country's ilovetraining.es site. note that when she speaks, a Spanish subtitle even shows up. a swedish model was likely used to further emphasize the differences between her and the DS player.
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8-21-2007 @ 4:26PM
Your Lost Socks said...
Brilliant and hilarious - not just the spots, either. I scrolled down to see the tags "gameboymicro, mouse, nudity" and giggled myself to death.
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