Thoughts on Mainstream Game Advertising
Posted on 14th Feb 2011 at 14:05 by Paul Goodhead with 27 comments
As a marketing graduate I often find myself idly assesing the marketing strategies that tech companies employ. It’s an industry that's fairly set in its ways - Taiwanese companies tend to think a CG picture of a pretty girl with an ornate sword or huge gun can sell anything, no matter what we in the West say. Meanwhile, here in the West, we can't help but work the touch-feely lifestyle angle - 'this laptop is good because you can help the kids with their homework on it!'
My interest was piqued therefore when I saw Nintendo’s latest Super Mario advert which marks the 25th anniversary of Mario series of games. The advert is initially quite unremarkable, showing men and women of all ages, some of whom are celebrities, talking about the Mario games and their memories of them. So far, so Nintendo; the company has been using softer, more personal adverts targeted at casual and first time gamers for a while now.
What I did find remarkable though was the end of the advert which contained the message the ad was there to convey - ‘Super Mario Brothers, part of the family since 1985’. It’s the first time I’ve seen a computer game use a heritage message, a message that emphasises the history and longevity of a brand or product.
These kinds of messages are more commonly seen in other industries where age and experience are seen as key benefits for the brand. Sainsburys, for example, ran a ‘Trying something new for 140 years’ campaign in 2009 and Ford is planning a campaign for this year based around the fact that it opened its first UK factory 100 years ago.
As a result it’s interesting to see this angle being used in an industry that is generally more about the new and next big thing than the past. It’s clearly an angle that Nintendo feel will work for their demographic though...and I’m tempted to agree with them.
The Wii has found its niche among those who probably wouldn’t call themselves hardcore gamers and consequently most of its user base doesn’t know all that much about games. They are therefore more likely to be swayed by an easy to understand heritage message than by boasts about DX11 effects or the Havok physics engine.
Part of the reason we’ve not seen messages like this before is also because the industry is relatively young. This is one of the first generations where you’ve been able to have old and young people share a conversation about games. It’s also become more socially acceptable to play games as more and more people are gaming these days. It’s not uncommon to see a mum playing a DS on the train and we’ve all seen the news stories about Wiis finding their way into care homes.
It therefore wouldn’t be surprising to see more of this kind of lifestyle approach, broad appeal advert in the future. It'll hopefully pave the way for a more understanding and calm view of computer games from others, which is why I think advertising like this is a good thing - even though we have to listen to Jamie Redknapp sycophantically spouting crap about how he'll 'never forget the first time I beat Bowser'.
My interest was piqued therefore when I saw Nintendo’s latest Super Mario advert which marks the 25th anniversary of Mario series of games. The advert is initially quite unremarkable, showing men and women of all ages, some of whom are celebrities, talking about the Mario games and their memories of them. So far, so Nintendo; the company has been using softer, more personal adverts targeted at casual and first time gamers for a while now.
What I did find remarkable though was the end of the advert which contained the message the ad was there to convey - ‘Super Mario Brothers, part of the family since 1985’. It’s the first time I’ve seen a computer game use a heritage message, a message that emphasises the history and longevity of a brand or product.
These kinds of messages are more commonly seen in other industries where age and experience are seen as key benefits for the brand. Sainsburys, for example, ran a ‘Trying something new for 140 years’ campaign in 2009 and Ford is planning a campaign for this year based around the fact that it opened its first UK factory 100 years ago.
As a result it’s interesting to see this angle being used in an industry that is generally more about the new and next big thing than the past. It’s clearly an angle that Nintendo feel will work for their demographic though...and I’m tempted to agree with them.
The Wii has found its niche among those who probably wouldn’t call themselves hardcore gamers and consequently most of its user base doesn’t know all that much about games. They are therefore more likely to be swayed by an easy to understand heritage message than by boasts about DX11 effects or the Havok physics engine.
Part of the reason we’ve not seen messages like this before is also because the industry is relatively young. This is one of the first generations where you’ve been able to have old and young people share a conversation about games. It’s also become more socially acceptable to play games as more and more people are gaming these days. It’s not uncommon to see a mum playing a DS on the train and we’ve all seen the news stories about Wiis finding their way into care homes.
It therefore wouldn’t be surprising to see more of this kind of lifestyle approach, broad appeal advert in the future. It'll hopefully pave the way for a more understanding and calm view of computer games from others, which is why I think advertising like this is a good thing - even though we have to listen to Jamie Redknapp sycophantically spouting crap about how he'll 'never forget the first time I beat Bowser'.
27 Comments
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Can anyway think of a word for that?
I think that's a great advert. It makes a bold claim - that Mario, a video game character is a cultural institution - in a quiet, unassuming way. You can't imagine them being able to do the same with Sonic, or Lara Croft, can you?
To me, it also seems about as genuine as an ad is going to get (aside from the Jamie Redknapp bit, which Paul is right to point out). But compare how Jonathan Ross comes across in this to how he is when he presents TV. Here he seems much more spontaneous, more personal, less of a show off.
It's also well paced - the way the hold the music back till right at the end, so it's practically playing in your head by the time it arrives - doesn't take itself too seriously (Ross's Jamie Cullum joke), and in the appearance of Patrick Moore aka Games Master, a nice nod to the geeks in the audience.
The one tech company which has used this kind of ad before - and which does sometimes appeal to its heritage, albeit less explicitly than this - is Apple.
The generation of my parents know Mario and Lara Croft, even though they never touched one of the games.
What other Game characters can we really say that about?
Batman? (Not a game character really)
Duke Nukem he's been round since the release of the relentless torrent of sequels, oh hang on....
She got a street named after her.
I think Nintendo's advertising is great. It doesn't appeal at all to the hardcore gamers, but they aren't the ones Nintendo needs to target, are they?
Only computer game my non gamer friends can still beat me at
Sony are still selling the PS2, and remaking the games every 5 years isn't nearly as bad as the sports and cod franchises.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su3kMZ7sEm8
Me too. Sheesh.. It's a ad for heaven's sake. If a person with eyes wants to see it, let them. Heck even if a blind guy wants to just listen to the tunes..
Isn't that the whole point of advertising?
FsON9PJRR4g
WTF? Censorship on YouTube? When did YouTube get bought out by the UK Gov't? Seriously, this is the first time I've seen this sort of thing on YouTube.
However, in this case, the video has been blocked courtesy of nintendo themselves. Seriously...
Especially often on Music-Viedeo's and Movietrailers.
And then it's the Pirates that hurt sales...
Fair play to Nintendo, certainly worth celebrating characters that've survived 25 years in a technically demanding and turbulent market and is still innovating and selling in the tens of millions. Reckon Master Chief will be remembered by anyone outside his circle of hard-core fans in 25 years time? The odds are very much against it.
But yeah, Nintendo's current ad campaign does have a certain cringe factor to it. Can't deny that.... makes me chew my fist every time that Wii pub night advert shows.... cheesier than the Leerdamer factory...
Adding "Mario since 1985" is one of the smartest moves in advertising, especially for a company who is being outclassed by Microsoft and Sony. Most all of the gamers out there now are in their mid 30's to mid-20's. One of the most iconic characters for those gamers is Mario. You know harekening back to a time when games were made for the fun of playing the game, not a time when it was all about being serious and not calling others noobs.
Nintendo's consoles may be technically inferior but their bank balance certainly isn't. Have Sony even managed to make a net profit on the PS3 yet?
The consoles may not be great but, as much as "serious" gamers hate them, the games are good and often groundbreaking. Mario 64 was the first 3D platformer. Zelda OOT introduced Z-targeting. Mario Galaxy is the annoying **** in the corner of the console bar bragging to Master Chief and his posse about his dynamic gravity. "Oh, darling, constant acceleration is sooooo last decade...."
Okay, some innovations Nintendo is credited with were done earlier by other people and stolen*ahem*adapted to big franchise games by Shigsy and his crew, but few people can actually name the games/teams who got their first. If no-one can remember it, it didn't happen.
In response to the article I think it's a really good approach. I particularly like the comment that greater game penetration is good for more normal reactions to games. There are plenty of horribly violent, sex ridden movies, but we stick a rating on them and we move on. But games with an M rating are still attacked when they sex. I think more people playing games means more people will understand the medium and the ratings better.