NewsBad Ads: Nintendo DS Women
The latest ads from Nintendo are a perfect example of a bad TV advertisement.
In case you haven’t seen them, they feature pop star women using Nintendo DS with assorted games (Brian Age, Nintendogs, Mario, etc). That’s fine, but the format of the ad is worse than bad… it’s alienating.
Yes, this is pretty much every second of the three ads…
Nintendo clearly is targeting people outside of their core audience; young women who are less than causal gamers. The problem is that the ad is simply filming people playing the game. All the ad winds up being is some annoying soft sounds from the game and a few “oh cool”(s) from the person playing it. It’s stereotypical, and something that has me reaching for the mute button.
This ad would be just as annyoing if male pop starts were playing a game in total silence. One thing I learned long ago; nobody wants to watch you playing a game. Don’t make a TV ad that winds up doing the same.
I was planning on buying a Wii. These ads tell me to wait for a price cut, because I don’t buy things that annoy me into listening. I may not be the target market, but the hallmark of a bad ad is one that winds up leaving a bad aftertaste in those that are the core audience.
Moral of the story: Don’t alienate your core audience with an ad that tries to reach out to new target audiences. It will wind up having your core audience start to be more interested in the competition.
I have to agree with you on this one. It seems Nintendo is moving away from the audience that sustained them when they fell from their former #1 position. I have to laugh at all of the ads related to the Wii because it comes off like a cheap novelty rather than an investment in entertainment.
This is Pong and Atari VCS all over again.
I think it accomplishes what it set out to do. I fall right into this demographic and it caught my attention. The only thing it’s stereotypical of is what the ad people think women “want,” but for the most part it captures those ideas effectively:
– Problem: women want “me” time
– Solution: Why not play a game with Nintendo DS?
–Problem: Women think video games means games that involve war and blasting things into oblivion
–Solution: Show a commercial where women are using a Nintendo DS to sharpen their skills or play with puppies
–Problem: Nintendo means ugly gray clunky “Geek” equipment
–Solution: No it’s not, it’s a cool, sleek, and fashionable “accessory” item that all the celebrities are using.
I think the ad conveys all of these messages and captures the demographic (women age 18-30) well.
I think you just have to be in that demographic to realize it.
Or I’m just totally dumb and bought the Nintendo DS based on a really stupid ad.