Topic: First North American Wii U Advertisement Video Airs Today

[Patchkid15]

Nintendo is getting ready for the month of Wii U.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/32338

The first Wii U advertisement video is set to be shown later today, November 1. The video will be available on Nintendo of America's Facebook page.

An image, which can be viewed on this page, was teased along with the announcement yesterday. The picture appears to reveal nine different living room settings in which it can be assumed either an individual or a family will be playing the Wii U during the ad. 

Two weeks ago the first advertisement was aired in the United Kingdom, which highlighted features of the system such as off screen play and asymmetric gameplay. Whether this North American ad will show off these abilities is currently unknown.

The Wii U will release across North America on November 18.

Update: You can see the new video below!

[Ceric]

Anyone else think its funny that NoE had put an advertisement out 2 weeks earlier than the region who is getting the console first.

[broodwars]

Anyone else think its funny that NoE had put an advertisement out 2 weeks earlier than the region who is getting the console first.

Nothing showing NoE to be vastly superior to / more competent than NoA surprises me anymore.

[UncleBob]

Pre-orders have virtually sold out everywhere.

Why advertise something when you don't have product to sell?

It's a waste of money that NoA could be using elsewhere.

[broodwars]

Pre-orders have virtually sold out everywhere.

Why advertise something when you don't have product to sell?

It's a waste of money that NoA could be using elsewhere.

"Pre-orders have virtually sold out everywhere

Why have Wii U demo kiosks in stores when you don't have product to sell?

It's a waste of money that NoA could be using elsewhere"

I could be saying this for a good number of things Nintendo is doing with the Wii U. I actually asked about that in my local GS yesterday after playing the Wii U Rayman Legends demo. They told me they still have their waiting list to attend to. *shrugs*

[UncleBob]

Wii U Demo Kiosks allow folks to get hands-on experience with game play (i.e.: helping to sell software, of which there will be plenty) *and* they last "forever".  The commercial lasts for the 30 seconds it's on TV.  Longer if you DVR'd it, but then you'll just skip over it anyway.

[Xero!]

Pre-orders have virtually sold out everywhere.

Why advertise something when you don't have product to sell?

It's a waste of money that NoA could be using elsewhere.

The commercials are to provide info to those persons who are NOT watching every Nintendo live stream or living on video game related websites. Yes, it's hard for some gamers to fathom this but there are plenty of people out there who are not well informed about the latest in video game hardware.
Also, pre-orders on the websites which actually provided pre-orders are sold out. Many stores (and the websites which are not allowing pre-orders) will be getting actual "free bird" consoles to sell. These will sell to a mixture of those who missed out on pre-orders and those who will only now be hearing about the console through these commercials.

[Boo_Buster]

@Broodwars "I actually asked about that in my local GS yesterday..."
[/size]
[/size]That, my friend, is an exercise in futility.

[Ceric]

The commercials should get WiiU in the general Consciousness and hopefully focus on the games more than the system at this point.

I have no doubt in my mind that Nintendo will be sending out a Black Friday shipment to retailers.

[ei8htbit]

@UncleBob and friends
A lot of people don't understand the concept of what a brand is and how advertising actually works, so from your standpoint, I can see how you think this would be a waste of money given that preorders are sold out.

The truth is that the bulk of Nintendo's advertising for the console launch to it's core demographic has already happened through PR events and allowing word of mouth and anticipation do the rest (which in large part doesn't cost Nintendo a thing and evidenced by the fact that it is already sold out prior to launch).

The reality is that core fans who bought up all the pre-orders are not the ones who are really going to be making money for the company, and brand awareness to the remaining 80% of the market (who will be supporting the bulk of it's profits) who will potentially be buying this thing (that looks and sounds a whole lot like the thing Nintendo already has in the marketplace) is their top priority at this point, and frankly, providing 100% clarity with National TV exposure to moms watching Oprah, Dad's watching football, and kids whose parents don't let them use the Internet that the Wii U is something new, exciting and something they should buy is probably the most important use of their money at this point.

You don't just launch a product without announcing it to the world on day one just because pre-orders have sold out. You need to build the brand, create a saturation of awareness so that you can keep it top of mind when others are considering other options like cheaper xbox bundles this holiday season. You can also be gauranteed that stores have limited their pre-orders to allow for some walk-in units on launch day to increase demand and excitement.

So in short, this is probably the most important action NoA and Nintendo-at-large should be doing at this point and the money spent is certainly worth the alternative of a quiet or failed launch. All eyes (including investors and analysts) will be watching this ad - it's very important for the success of this launch.

[BeautifulShy]

Yeah ei8htbit already said what I was going to say but to add a little more. All the Nintendo Directs, Iwata asks and E3 et all that NWR and the media has been letting us know about has just been letting us know about the console and such pretty much has been for us and has been a like a snowball going down a mountain as far as building hype for the console and it is going to keep on going till the launch.

You guys remember the "Wii would like to play" ads for the Wii and how they were leading up to the Launch and even after for a very long time well this is no different. They were for everyone and not just the general gaming public.

In any case Nintendo released the ad just now.

[Fatty The Hutt]

Not bad. Could have used about 3 seconds more on TVii I think but I liked the slickness and music.


I want people to be hyped for this thing like I am. I like it when people enjoy stuff, especially stuff I also think is awesome. So here's hoping the ads do their job.

[Stogi]

It just needed one shot, just one shot of someone playing while taking a dump.

[Ceric]

This add is just keeping my belief that NoA wants to be Aperture Science more still alive.  Need set but Nintendo is Cube obsessed.

[azeke]

Yeah, this ad is okay, but it's not gonna win Cannes Lions anytime soon.

Audio sounds like someone torturing a cat with musical saw though.

Also i see them banking big on SiNG game. Kinda disappointing that all of the footage was Nintendo published titles:

New Super Mario Bros U
SiNG
Nintendo LAnd Ninja Castle
Lego City Stories
Nintendo TVii
Nintendo Land Mario Chase
Nintendo Land Mario Battle

No Rayman but i guess with it delayed and being third-party, it's understandable...

Also whats's with the FOX copyright in the middle of the ad saying that sequence is shortened? There is longer version?

[BeautifulShy]

That video is directly from Nintendo's youtube page azeke so I don't think there is a longer version and I also just checked their Facebook and it is the same ad as on their youtube.

[ei8htbit]

First impression: MUCH better than the UK ad with that horribly annoying comedian as the announcer saying "pew pew pew pew pew" like it's an Asteroids arcade cabinet from the 80s...


Definitely does it's job speaking to the non-core audience, it looks and sounds like something new and the whole family can enjoy it or at least play together, but it certainly does nothing to speak to the core (that happened the second they showed SiNG footage)


Overall: this is definitely a Nintendo ad. It's safe and family-oriented. But it will do enough to spread the message that this thing is new and fun to play with - that's enough to get people in stores to the demo stations at least to see for themselves.

@Azeke lol the music is definitely an interesting choice...it sounds like the ad agency recommended something contemporary and high energy that the kids will understand like the ole Dubstep but the client felt uncomfortable with sounding too aggressive so they ended up with a remix of the music from the Gamepad promotional video shown at E3. Also, the legal copy "sequence shortened" stuff is there as a disclaimer for the Nintendo TVii stuff (for subscription-based content and the movie poster images I'm sure)

[Ceric]

...
Also whats's with the FOX copyright in the middle of the ad saying that sequence is shortened? There is longer version?

All the movie they showed looked to be produced by Fox.  Probably skipping the load portions.

[ei8htbit]

@Fatty-Hutt: I'm right there with you brother, hyped as hell for this system to launch. I hope it does well, I already know it's fun to play - even with the limited time I've tried it out - and has a ton of potential so naturally  hope it gets the support it needs to thrive and make gaming new and exciting again (but most of all, fun)

BTW, isn't it interesting is that, like the UK ad, nowhere do they mention the Nintendo brand name. Probably their way of trying to differentiate it from "Nintendo Wii" and just refer to it as "Wii U" fullstop.

[Ceric]

Your right they don't mention Nintendo.

[UncleBob]

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that Nintendo shouldn't ever advertise the Wii U before launch.  I'm just saying that there's no real advantage to advertising it a month or more out.

Two-three weeks seems about right.

[Kairon]

I think it's really interesting that this ad focuses a great deal on children. I mean, it could be "family" focused but I felt that even in family situations the kids were the focus of attention in this ad.

I also like the quick view that, yes, you can play it all by yourself if playing with others is not your thing, with that one kid playing Lego City by himself.

[Traveller]

They didn't really use the Nintendo name with the Wii either. The system is simply Wii.


I liked the ad mostly, I don't think the TV stuff was obvious enough. We know what it was, but I'm not sure uninformed people would catch exactly what that was.


Anyway, time to break out the commercial I made late last year. I feel that Nintendo should of leveraged the Wii Would Like to Play guys again too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUIp9_M-0w4

[Lithium]

funny that your commercial gets the point across much clearer than the official one. especially at the end with the "wii 2" turning into "wii U"

[Traveller]

Yeah, I tried to think of a clever way to say 2. Song choice was important as well. A cover version saying from Wii to U would of been good.