New Nintendo Game, Same Distasteful Slogan

Advertiser: Nintendo

Agency: Leo Burnett, Chicago

Challenge: Excite gamers about 1080 Snowboarding, the latest sports title for the Nintendo 64 video game system.

The Ad: A television commercial introduces viewers to Jehu Nassad, a fictitious desert nomad evidently hooked on 1080 Snowboarding. In the middle of a desert landscape, Nassad demonstrates his prowess at the game, the result of practicing “five or six hours a day.” “It is very spiritual,” he says. “Just you and the mountain and the snowboard and the game.”

Comment: So you don’t have to be a snowboarder to play this video game. What else is new? The ad provides a few glimpses of the game, but it is hard to draw conclusions about its difficulty from those fleeting views. Nassad is odd without being funny. And while the game is challenging enough to keep him occupied for many hours, it is surprising that Nintendo would suggest lengthy play, given the ongoing complaints about the time kids spend with video games. Nintendo continues to use its distasteful “Get N or Get Out” slogan--meaning kids without Nintendo are out--but with less passion than in previous ads. $$