It may not seem so at first, but this Subway ad is a brave new world of mainstream video game representation.
Sure, it has the modern "wakka-wakka" video game noises -- in accordance with federal law. It's got everyone's favorite modern method of video game control: The comically large joystick. The ad's fictional game, "Snakka" is based on Pac-Man, everyone's favorite modern game.
There's even the requisite, not-so-subtle implication that video games turn your kids into chubby zombies (the most adorable threat known to man). This sucker's got everything, but as gaming in the media goes, this is pretty standard.
But just as it's about to sink into the abyss of mediocrity, the ad wizards really go above and beyond and actually manage to misrepresent the basic idea of Pac-Man.
[See how after the break.]
It seems ridiculous, but it's true. Their inability (or possible refusal) to understand Pac-Man has turned the horizontal game board on its side and made its walls into platforms. It's a little like watching the feverish nightmares of Billy Mitchell circa July 1999. It's like watching the horrifying byproduct of K.C. Munchkin's whirlwind affair with Joseph Merrick. It's like ... well, it's depressing, let's leave it at that.
Congratulations, random advertising agency, not only did you use a 28-year-old game to represent the medium, but you managed to actually screw that up.
Oh, and side note: Jared Fogle says Nintendo games made him fat.
[Thanks, VH1 Gamebreak for pointing this one out.]
(Page 1) Reader Comments
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Excellent reporting.
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http://www.jodyanthony.com
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The kid is playing a game where getting fat is the objective.
I see no diss to the video game industry.
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The kid is playing a game where getting fat is the objective.
I see no diss to the video game industry.
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Moral: You should either wear your thinking cap or be a sheep 24/7. If you think about issues half the time and use "Access Hollywood" the other half you'll look like an inconsistent fool.
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And if they hadn't gone with a platformer, how would they show off the fat kid's poor jumping abilities?
Not trying to defend the commercial, but I'm just presenting the other half of the "reading waaay too much into it" argument.
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If the latter, give up comedy. If the former, pay attention to the point in the commercial that says "What kind of eating habits are your KIDS learning?" and realize that not every single commercial out there is targeted to you and your deomgraphic. The target demographic for this commercial is obviously the parents, the majority of which would be old enough to immediately associate video games with said 28 year old Pac-Man.
Most old video games are pretty similar to the fake one in the add, too. Ice cream, pie, huge chunks of meat, and all sorts of fattening foods were typically associated with power-ups, points, health, and other desired things in games.
The ad's pretty right about the point it's trying to make, and using modern games would alienate the targeted parents and cause the same kind of backlash your post displayed were it not %100 accurate and up to day. Don't be such a puritan.
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Nope. I thought "Wow, what horrible game design.
Not only does it actively punish the player for being successful, it doesn't even do in a clever way."
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sure, they chose video games to illustrate their platform because its an easy platform to manipulate and illustrate your message. they could have just as easily filmed a fake sitcom skit or cartoon with fat kids eating fattening foods. the fact that its represented with a video game is inconsequential.
and then because you chose to concentrate on their "misrepresentation of pac-man" (although i feel that they have to be trying to represent pac-man to misrepresent him, and i don't think they were) the message is completely lost.
bottom line, your kids are fat. no, its not just because they are playing video games. if anything, games like San Andreas encouraged you to eat healthy and work out so your character would become more muscular and not a fat worthless blob.
it's not the end of the world if a commercial is encouraging kids to go outside for five minutes a day, nor is it that bad for parents to be encouraged to watch what their kids and eating and doing.
i can proudly say i've never eaten Lucky Charms in my life (or most sugary cereals for that matter), i didn't drink pop when i was a kid, and i got McDonalds maybe once a month. and guess what? i'm not fat. shcoking, i know. i have my parents to thank for actually having a healthy and active childhood.
kids these days are just chubby, pasty, basement dwellers and its not because of genetics.
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You make a fair point that the bleep-boop Pac-Man stuff is probably more effective as a cultural touchstone to the target demo of the ad. And you're also right in the regard that I am being kind of a puritan about the silly gameplay in Snakka.
I could have communicated my issues better, so let me try to do that.
What's the ad saying, really? What's the message? If you look at the literal, they're saying that games used to have bad messages about food and that's not the best way for your kids to learn about eating. While I agree, that's not the way things are anymore.
But it's what the ad is implying that I have a problem with. The implication is "Your kids are getting fat because they play video games and eat cookies all day." This ad reinforces negative stereotypes using an example that's antiquated and groundless. That's my problem.
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I am in the group of people that maybe thought you went a bit overboard with this article and shouldn't take offense to it because of how it misrepresented videogames but since you actually commented on this thread to defend your article, I applaud you, especially for sticking to your original opinion and not folding to peer pressure.
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Input - output = weight gain (loss)
When the input exceeds the output, weight is gained. Input increases when children eat more junk food. When I was a kid, I only got to eat sweet stuff on birthdays, mine and friends, or about 6 times a year. Output declines when kids sit around playing games, watching television, or otherwise not moving. Again, as a child I had an NES, but I only got to enjoy it two hours a week. The rest of the time I was relegated to the outdoors. Net result? Healthy individual who isn't disgustinly overweight and can run two miles in 12 minutes without my heart exploding from the strain.
However, are video games and cookies the cause? The direct cause, but they are a symptom of a greater problem: parental irresponsibility.
My parents gave a shit about my health and well being and disallowed excess in my activities, a behavior that has followed me through life. Every time I see some fat kid, my first though is "why the hell did mommy and daddy let that happen?"
Fat kids are the result of parents not wanting to put forth the effort to raise a good child. Smaller blame goes on school systems for eliminating recess.
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@20. It's not implying anything about video games. It's saying "Your kids are fat because you let them eat shit food. Here, why not let them eat Subway? It's just as fast as Greasy McArteryClogger but tastier and better for them."
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I guess the point I was trying to make was just how little of an understanding the ad makers had of the very thing they were spoofing and (if you buy my earlier reasoning) trying to blame for chubby kids.
If that's not the way you guys see it though, I completely understand that. And I really appreciate you guys taking the time to let me know.
It's way, way better than the guy who suggested after my second post that I be fired and hit by a truck full of cancer wigs.
Way better.
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"I usually had one hand on the controller and one in a bag of chips"
so it's the controller that made you fat?
Sure.
Perhaps it was you, and your parents complete inability to regulate your eating habits. One could sit and play video games all day and have one hand on a controller and the other on a carrot stick and not gain a pound. What's your point Jared? You got fat because you ate fatty ass foods. I think it's funny that this guy can blame Nintendo and then in the same speech say something like...
"I used to ride my bike to the local fast-food restaurant and spend my entire allowance on the biggest, fattiest meal I could get"
but don't forget kids...It's the controller that made him fat.
What a putz.
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They were just using what kids nowadays love - videogames - and using it to drive home the message.
Get over it.
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newsflash: The commercial portrays some type of video game. This is a video game blog. Why not discuss it here?
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Posted at 10:28AM on Apr 3rd 2007 by GCNH87
Don't you mean that's Wii-tarded? :)
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Because this is a site about VIDEO GAMES, not everything else. I'd expect this on a video game blog site.
Now if we saw stuff about the firearms (not related to video games) I would be confused.
Jeeze.
Justin, good article. People here just enjoy complaining about anything and everything. And since there's nothing new to make fun of Nintendo/Sony about today, they chose your article.
Ignore them.
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2) My wife's WoW character pounds Rumsey Rum Black label on a continuous basis, for the stamina bonus. What's that teaching kids?
3) Can we all agree that it's time to retire the Atari 2600 Pacman sound effects as the standard video game noise? Christ, it's bad enough I had that awful travesty of a game, which incidentally is probably just as responsible as 2600 ET for the great video game flameout of the early 80s, but is that really ther ONLY video game sound effect for commercials and television? Frankly it gives me post-tramatic stress flashbacks. GONK GONK GONK BLUA-BLUA-BLUA GONK GONK GONK WOOWOO-WEEWEE-WOWWOW-WAA!
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the main misleading thing in this commercial is that most games make people lazy NOT intentionally teach them bad eating habits
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Come to think of it, I don't remember the Atari joystick having a big red plastic ball on the top of it. :\
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Do games make kids fat I would say no more than watching too much TV or sitting around reading books or surfing the web. But with games like DDR and games on the Wii games are getting more physical which is good.
Really the commercial would work just as good with a fake televion show. So as a gamer I will not get mad they used fake game to illistrate this as it is a valid argument not of video games themselves but the bad behaviors that can develop and really Parents are the only ones that can do anything about that(get outside jr and no you cant take your DS).
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I also use a Mac and like Nintendo.
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