September 29, 2008

Girls just want to have fun...with Nintendo DS

I like advertising. I like it even more when it has an ability to entertain. Believe it or not, also a simple, one page print ad can do it. Nintendo DS latest print ad with America Ferrera is a great example of it.

Nintendo ads are not only for Nintendo DS but also for one of its games, in this case for Mystery Case Files MillionHeir. Ad tells you to find eight items hidden on the picture and surprisingly, the first time I saw this ad I spent a couple of minutes looking for those items, which were hidden pretty well (but I found them all). This ad gets your attention. Its busy picture and the leopard sitting next to America makes you wonder what’s going on. In case it doesn’t get your attention, which I’m sure happens; you miss experiencing one of the games, which thiad imitates, even if you don’t have the Nintendo DS. Very important was the location of this ad. I found it to be the last page of In Touch and also in US magazine, which kind of separated it from hundreds of other ads inside of the magazine.


Nintendo was for many years considered to be a game for boys and boys love Nintendo. It’s surprising that there are only girls promoting Nintendo in this campaign. America Ferrera is not the only female star. Liv Tyler, Carrie Underwood, Olivia Newton-John and also Nicole Kidman for UK market spend their free time with Nintendo DS in their hands.
Nintendo DS also came with different colors to choose from. In a definitely not for boys ad, America shows her own pink Nintendo, with her name AMERICA made of rhyme stones on the back. It is clear that Nintendo DS is being marketed for female customers.

Best Buy sells Nintendo DS for $129.99 which compared to what Nintendo used to cost, is not as bad. Looking for items hidden on the picture gave me sort of an experience of what the Mystery Case Files MillionHeir game is like and showed me that it is fun. I almost want to go and buy which means this ad clearly works.

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