Nintendo Airs Two New NES Commercials
Back in June we posted the brochure below that was targeted at retailers to entice them to carry Nintendo’s new console, the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Included was information regarding Nintendo’s marketing campaign and advertising schedule. As you can see, Nintendo had planned to begin its holiday marketing blitz in mid-September with two new commercials. They have both begun airing in major markets during Saturday morning cartoons.
The first one is a variation of the very first NES commercial that aired in New York last fall. It’s similar in nature and tone. The second one is much more high tech and very futuristic looking. It shows off a handful of the games currently available for purchase. I think this commercial will appeal directly to kids, especially teens.
I must admit that I’m surprised that Super Mario Bros. isn’t featured more in these advertisements. It’s by far and away my favorite game released so far on the system. It’s also interesting that Nintendo has avoided placing any pricing in the ads. Perhaps they’re worried they’ll be seen as too expensive when compared to Atari. It remains to be seen how effective these commercials will be. So far Nintendo has come out of the gate very strong as they rolled the NES out nationwide over the past few months. We’re hearing sales have been brisk, which is impressive considering the holiday shopping season is just now kicking off. What do you think of the commercials? Let us know in the comments below.
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
