Ad critic: Wii-nimilast print ad

The add would be more effective if it at least had the nintendo logo somewhere more visiable. If a parrent sees the nintendo logo, they will stop to look at the ad because they know that their child will want one for christmas. I know i personally just skip through an ad and never look back. Somthing has to keep me from turning the page. This ad doesn't do that. (I'm still getting one anyway.)

I think the positioning of the controller says it all. It's waiting to be picked up and it's obvious how it's supposed to be held.

However, I don't think it shows off the motion sensativity. It would be difficult to show that functionality without cluttering the ad with screenshots and pictures of people using it.

I don't like the slanted console though. It just seems unnecessary. I also think the Nintendo logo should be feature more prominently. Nintendo is a recongnizable mainstream brand. They should embrace that more.

I see this ad as more of a teaser. It certainly won't convince anyone to buy it. But I think the conroller looks unique enough to catch the mainstream viewer's attention.

"try explaining the Wii-mote to your mom ... now try doing that with this image. Does the declaration that "playing=believing" communicate anything of value to a curious consumer? "

Yes it does. They look, think "is that a games system?", the playing text implies that yes, it is a games system.
The system and controllers have an unconventional look. Humans naturally act suspicious to anything that looks different, so to reassure with the "playing=believing" text makes the situation a little more understandable.

How else could you explain it? Nintendo say there is more to learn so they cannot explain everything yet, especially for an advert.

The Wii is all about simplicity (or so Nintendo are telling us), this advert continues that ideology. It's not about games, it's about experiences. Again bringing us back to "playing=believing".

On a photography level, the way the Wii and controller are angled. Is this graphically expressing the disruption strategy Nintendo? the name escapes me but the old German anti-noise advert from years ago uses angles to convey a message. Though really not related to this at all. Other than that it's a pretty perfect advert. The images are balanced and everything follows lines. It works. I say it's either real or done by a pro-faker. Or by someone with good luck.

The message is experience.

I hope that's a fake ad... if not, wtf is Nintendo doing ditching thier agency in favor of whoever made this crap? Minimalism is hard to effectivly pull off, and this add just looks cheap. Especially with that cheesy "omfg?! photoshop has gradients?!" treatment on playing = believing. Leo Burnett (Nintendo's advertising agency, in the states at least) would never make something so amaturish... It's got no impact whatsoever, it doesn't make any kind of statement visually(which is, of course, what you want to do with a minimalist ad, as apple does).

The ad strikes me as one of those... "it's coming" ads. It is intentionally short on information, instead, just appearing to make you wonder what exactly it is. And then, as it gets closer to launch, ads will become more and more developed and intense.

This appeared in a GAMING magazine, thus it is targeting gamers.

If people don't know what the Wii is, then they shouldn't be reading said magazine. This ad simply creates anticipation for the launch, signifying that the console is getting much closer to actual release.

If this appeared in Ladies Home Journal or something, than it would be very non-effective, and would have a ton of text, and be done completely different.

I'm sorry but this post just seems like they're filling space with worthless garble.

.... sorry guys, I love Joystiq :)

I think Nintendo should follow Nike's ads over Apple's. Simple, sweet, and straight to the point:

Just Play With It!

there not the only ones.

why do you think psp was released with white ear phones, even though sony knew they were going to release a white version.

It's a teaser my friends! its purpose is to spark interest, planting a seed in the mind - build some hype even.

Actually overall this type of minimalist ad is more effective

Take this demonstration for example - it's product packaging, but it gets the basic idea across. Which one looks more appealing to you? (It's fun to watch too!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeXAcwriid0&search=microsoft%20ipod

so you want me to belive that an ad in a german gameing mag is in english.

riiiigght...

Remind anyone else of "seeing is believing" from the Tomb Raider: Legend ads?

That said, it's a really nice teaser.
#1, #2: Do you think of the "iPod" or "Apple iPod"? Nintendo's trying to get the Wii recognition on it's own merits, not just as "oh, another Nintendo game console".

Yeah it's a teaser. Plus I think Nintendo is trying to get away from the kinds of gaming ads of today, with lots of pictures and explosions and shiny things, and instead go with a pleasant-to-the-eye, simple white piece. But then, I'm no marketing student, so wtf do I know?

In a gaming magazine, this isn't a very effective ad if its intent is to get gamers interested in the Wii. It should be more informative about what it is, since gamers don't have any negative stereotypes about gaming in their minds.

If this were in a non-gaming magazine, it would certainly be one way of trying to advertise it. I think when Nintendo tries to advertise to non-gamers, it should look as little like an advertisement for a game console as possible. If they were to put this advertisement in a magazine like National Geographic or something like that, I would take the "playing=believing" line off and put the address for the Wii website at the bottom, preferably a separate domain that redirects to the site on Nintendo's website. The idea should be to try to catch people's attention enough to make them interested enough to look for more information. Once they're reading about it, you at least have their interest, and there's much less of a chance of them ignoring it because it's just video games.

Screenshots simply do not do games justice anymore. They are great for gaming mags in such, but in the age of the internet you can see them in motion, and Wii may even be beyond that, because you don't know how the game reacts based on your physical commands. 90% of the time TV adverts and screenshots get you to imagine playing a game with the controller in your hand. Especially in DS game adverts, you sometimes see the touch screen or the microphone in action. With Wii it will be harder to convey.

Probot is right though, this is more of a teaser than a full-on ad.

Minimalist is good, but up to a point. The problem with this ad is that it shows 0 functionality: give a person who is new to the whole console arena, and they'll not have an idea what it can do. If it were me, I'd have place a person performing an action with the controls, and the obligatory logo, captions and website address. (one advantage of the Wii is that it's simple to see how it translates to ingame movement, without showing it)

Then again, when considering that this is a gaming magazine, perhaps all they need is brand persistence. I can't imagine what sort of person would read a game magazine, and knows nothing of the Wii and it's capabilities, I don't think we need to be reminded further.

Ken, etc.: It's not just in a game mag, it's also in a Canadian film festival program; hardly a hardcore gaming audience there.

@ Darth Pixel

First, I do agree with you that both the DS and the PSP are targeted toward certain audiences. Personally, I think that type of diversity is good for the industry. The DS is for those who want to play crazy crap with the added touch screen and the Brain Age-esque games, too. The PSP is for those who want a console-like experience in portable form (which are probably good for long plane trips). I cannot see why many claim that this is a handheld war or even why many think one over the other will prevail for that matter.

Second, just because that there are more games for the PSP that are rated 8.0 or higher doesn't mean that everyone will be automatically interested in playing those games or even find them good in their own eyes. Same thing goes with those DS titles as well.

I'm more concerned about gamers being happy with the system they love than seeing them choosing the most popular system and end up regretting their purchase.

RTFA Ninja says: it was in a Canadian film festival guide, not just a German gaming magazine.

Nintendo isn't trying to give information, they're trying to negate the information people already have - "gaming is for kids". Lifting the style of the Apple ads, in this sense, is a smart move.

It just a teaser ad to make pepole wonder what it is...

isn't this thing supposed to be cheaper than an ipod? who cares about the simple ad, everyone is going to buy one. besides, nintendo doesn't need to sell its logo; who DOESN'T know about the wii by now?

Ok, I am a graphic designer by trade. I make ads for a living, and I think this is a very good ad. If there were too much text, people would not read it. It is pointless to try and explain how it works. Someone flipping through a magazine is not going to stop and read an ad. It DOES tell people they need to play it though. And thats an important bit. It makes the point quick. Also, since it IS the first ad, then it might help spark interest. Hey, its already working. Here we are discussing it.

eggfou; exactly. It's like the old "Hello boys" advert in London. It stopped traffic and that only had the product and 2 words. That is all you need. Apple does the same with iPod, or perhaps even to a lesser extent. Just show a new looking iPod on a random coloured backdrop and people will rush out to buy it.

You and me both mate, I'm not an advertiser by trade but it's something I spent a lot of time studying at university.

Just show a new looking iPod on a random coloured backdrop and people will rush out to buy it.

Not comparable. An Ipod is already a recognizable, known product. Apple doesn't need to do any further advertising. However, no one outside of gamers and some of their close relatives know or care what a Wii is. An ad like this is going to do nothing to inform the non-gamers.

@ #10 - yes, it is highly believable that an ad in a German mag has English text. English is considered "cool" and "trendy" (two English words you hear quite a bit over there), see also the "No Smints - No Kiss" ads, the "Mentos - Freshmaker" ads, the Lucky Strike ads, the Marlboro Man ad (that long commercial just before cigarette ads were banned in the US still plays in German theatres before movies from time to time - entirely in English).

Just because nobody speaks foreign languages in America doesn't mean that our European counterparts are quite so linguistically byzantine.

Hmm... two things keep me from really praising this ad.

First off, is white-on-white really the way to go? I think it's too difficult to really discern the product on this. It has a weird "sanitized for your protection" feel to it. Maybe if it had a black background, I'd like it more.

Second, it seems really odd to me that the console/controller are centered at the bottom of the page, and there's a gap of white space between the logo/slogan and the item itself. It looks like whoever threw this together in Photoshop got lazy and didn't drag the picture all the way up.

The ad is totally fake. I'm a print designer and I KNOW IT'S A FAKE because of the positioning of the logo. First off it is too close to the cut off point. There is no safety. If it was a left or a right sided page the logo or that type in the bottom left corner would be cut off by the spine or edge of paper.

This does show off how much nicer the Wii looks than ANY other console.

In my opinion, the ad would perhaps have been better without the console. Personally, I find it quite ugly and perhaps less iPod-esque then the xbox 360. If it had just been the controller, there would have been less distraction and the reader would be encouraged to feel curiosity and imagination in how you could play games with it. Also, to go with that, they should think of something more original and catchy then 'playing = believing'. That statement actually bores me a bit.

wtf is "wii-nimilast" supposed to mean, exactly? it doesn't even make sense.

i think the ad looks sweet, but of course, i'm a die-hard fanboy so... you know... nintendo can do no wrong and all that.

-"superfan" tactics.

I think the ad does what they want it to... get the name and the image out there. At this point in time, you're merely fighting for mindshare, not for actual sales. People need to be familiar with something before they will sit down to read more about it. I'd imagine they will move from this point to actually showing how playing is believing.

Fake, and waiting to be justified by fanboys.

"Try explaining the Wii-mote to your mom ... now try doing that with this image."

Dude... this particular ad is in a gamer magazine. It's not aimed at moms...

It needs a tad more contrast and the tagline shouldn't be in italics and just a little bigger font.

Other than that its good.

@people saying it's fake: Don't be so sure. I'm not going to say it's real, but a lot of people were saying that German company that designed this is known for making sucky ads. I don't have a history in advertising, and I don't see much wrong with this ad besides the fact that Nintendo is already acceptable to gamers and doesn't need to use this "be mysterious to get people interested" stuff in a game magazine.

Another thing that seems to indicate that it's real is that if I push my laptop monitor really far back and look at it at from the right angle, I can clearly see a few creases and wrinkles in the page and a faint image of the other side of the page.

It's just a aimple ad. Ads are meant to get you familiar with a product and to just see them for a few seconds, not to explain the whole concept. Who reads and examines ads in the streets? Think about movie ads or billboards, they do not explain the film, that what TV commercials are for. I'm sure Nintendo will make TV commercials to show how Wii works.

If this is in a German gaming mag, why isn't the text in German? Are most German gaming mags written in english?

i feel as though by saying very little you say more. By sparking an intellectual intrigue without a list of reasons gives me MORE reason to either try or buy. Not knowing what it is makes the consumer investigate. By saying nothing you are lighting a question "What the hell is wii?"

They ask their son, or they ask the neighbor, the neighbor checks the wii website and furthermore gets more interested....

It's a passive social advertisement