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Nintendo Launches Massive Media Blitz for Debut of Nintendo DSPosted on Monday, October 25, 2004 @ 12:59:50 pm E.S.T
Do not adjust your TV sets. The
sultry voice you hear emanating amid the static heralds Nintendo's
massive, multimillion-dollar "Touching is good" campaign to spread the
word about the innovative, touch- and dual-screened Nintendo DS(TM).
The new hand-held video game and communications system launches Nov.
21, and will be backed by the largest launch program ever for a
Nintendo product.
Since childhood, we've been told "please do not touch" -- don't
touch that lamp, stop touching your food and don't touch anything in
this store. Nintendo DS changes those rules. The "Touching is good"
multimedia campaign creatively touts the unique features of the
dual-screened Nintendo DS, which include a touch screen, a built-in
chat function, wireless communication and voice recognition.
Intriguing pre-launch television ads begin airing on Oct. 25. The
series of three ads presents a static-filled screen with a female
voice-over that encourages viewers to interact with two blue boxes
that appear on the screen. The sultry requests for interaction
coincide with the special features of Nintendo DS.
To support this pre-launch effort, Nintendo has aligned itself
with powerful media partners that target a hip, male demographic. MTV
produced a custom ad for Nintendo DS featuring the stars of Wildboyz
using Nintendo DS to play a wireless multiplayer game, while engaging
in one of their exciting trademark adventures. Nintendo will offer a
video with behind-the-scenes footage of the making of this commercial
on Nintendo.com. In addition, custom advertorials will run exclusively
in Dennis Publishing's Maxim, Blender and Stuff magazines, instructing
readers "How to Score." The ads relate to readers and viewers of these
popular media brands by speaking their language.
During the launch phase for Nintendo DS, three new television ads
will showcase the unit's unique features. This engaging and surreal
campaign will demonstrate the appeal of Nintendo DS to a wide range of
ages and demographics. Consumers will not be identified simply by age,
but rather by the kinds of lifestyles they lead. Nintendo will market
Nintendo DS to the full spectrum of hipsters, budding enthusiasts and
hard-core gamers.
In December, Nintendo will run ads on more than 5,000 movie
screens across the country. Print ads in gaming magazines will support
the launch, along with a full range of Internet and broadband efforts.
There will be unique program integration with major TV networks. In
addition, Nintendo DS is being featured on the Nintendo Fusion Tour, a
multi-city tour that presents the best in music and video games.
"The campaign for Nintendo DS marks a different, bolder approach
for Nintendo," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice
president of marketing and corporate communications. "We think such a
radically different and creative device like Nintendo DS deserves the
backing of an equally innovative and provocative marketing campaign."
Nintendo's media agency of record, Starcom U.S.A., and its
specialist division, Starcom Entertainment, negotiated media placement
and branded integration with MTV and Dennis Publishing. Nintendo of
America's advertising agency, Leo Burnett USA, created the pre-launch
and launch television ads.
Nintendo DS will sell at an MSRP of $149.99. In addition to the
built-in PictoChat(TM) chat function, Nintendo DS will come bundled
with a playable demo of Metroid Prime(R) Hunters: First Hunt, the
latest installment in an extremely popular first-person shooter
franchise.
Before the end of the year, Nintendo DS users will be able to
enjoy games of all kinds, from Super Mario(R) 64 DS from Nintendo,
Madden NFL 2005, Tiger Woods PGA TOUR(R) 2005 and The Urbz(TM): Sims
in the City(TM) from EA, and Spider-Man 2(TM) from Activision. Other
third-party titles available during the launch window include Ping
Pals from THQ, Feel the Magic(TM): XY/XX from SEGA, Rayman(R) DS and
Asphalt Urban GT(TM) from Ubisoft and Ridge Racer(R) DS and Mr.
DRILLER(R): Drill Spirits(TM) from Namco. More than 120 games remain
in development for Nintendo DS around the world.
The worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive
entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and
markets hardware and software for its popular home and portable video
game systems. Each year, hundreds of all-new titles for the
best-selling Game Boy(R) Advance, Nintendo DS(TM) and Nintendo
GameCube(TM) systems extend Nintendo's vast game library and continue
the tradition of delivering a rich, diverse mix of quality video games
for players of all ages. Since the release of its first home video
game system in 1983, Nintendo has sold more than 1.9 billion video
games and more than 170 million hardware units globally, creating
enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and
launching popular culture franchise phenomena such as Metroid(R),
Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of
America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for
Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.
For more information about Nintendo, visit the company's Web site
at http://www.nintendo.com. Posted By: Adam Paoli - 82 Reads
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