Ch. 16 - Advertising, Public Relations and Sales Promotion

Historically speaking, Nintendo has been known for the outlandish way it chooses to advertise it's products. The advertisement  campaign for it's 3DS handheld gaming console was by far the most peculiar. The campaign was called "I'm Not a Gamer" and it involved  actors and athletes playing the console then proudly stating that they're not gamers. This was done to appeal to non gamers and I guess show that you don't have to be a "gamer" to enjoy playing video games on the 3DS. The campaign wasn't well received as many felt that it "missed the mark" when it came to successful advertisement. Internet spoofs of the campaign began to spread like wildfire and Nintendo discontinued the campaign.

A parody of "I'm Not a Gamer"

Nintendo has been focused on consumer's lifestyles when advertising their products with the general theme of happiness. Nintendo advertisements try to convey that if you buy their products, you and your family will be much happier and closer than ever. On occassion, they've been known to employ humor as well in their advertisements as in the case of "Super Smash Brothers", released in 1999 for their N64 console.

I used to find this commercial HILARIOUS

The mediums typically used by Nintendo for advertisement are TV commercials and magazine ads(typically within gaming entertainment publications). Nintendo also at one point had it's own dedicated magazine called "Nintendo Power" which focused on all Nintendo related video game news and reviews for games. It ran from 1988 till it was discontinued in 2012. Nintendo power used to give gamers news surrounding their newest products 1st before other publications and also offered demos of upcoming games periodically. Personally speaking, playing demos of games not released yet was always an exciting thing for me. I always felt a little superior to my friends if I got to play something 1st and that usually makes me buy the game when it is released, so I can definitely see the logic in giving away free demos.

R.I.P. Nintendo Power =(