Nintendo Running First Super Bowl Spot Sunday, Pitching New "Switch" Game System
Nintendo is "running its very first Super Bowl ad" on Sunday, and the brand "released the 30-second spot" yesterday, according to Katie Richards of ADWEEK. The ad, set to run in the fourth quarter, promotes the new Nintendo Switch video game system, which "allows users to seamlessly switch their gaming experience between their hand-held systems to their home consoles" (ADWEEK.com, 2/1). ENGADGET's Sean Buckley noted the commercial, underscored to the tune of "Believer" by Imagine Dragons, is as "high energy as a game console advertisement can get" (ENGADGET.com, 2/1).
HE'S BACK: AD AGE's George Slefo noted actor Arnold Schwarzenegger will "make his second Super Bowl appearance to once again promote video game 'Mobile Strike.'" A teaser for the commercial created by 215McCann, S.F., was "released for the national spot, showing Arnold commanding a fictional army in combat." The spot "ends with Schwarzenegger saying, 'I'm the party pooper'" (ADAGE.com, 2/1).
YOU GO GIRL: AD AGE's E.J. Schultz noted Audi is "using its Super Bowl ad to promote gender pay equality via a tale about a father and daughter in the latest example of a marketer linking itself to female empowerment." The 60-second spot by Venables Bell & Partners, S.F., will "run in the third quarter" (ADAGE.com, 2/1). ADWEEK's Tim Nudd noted this is the "ninth appearance on the game" for Audi. It might "seem odd for an automaker to use 60 seconds on the Super Bowl to push a progressive political cause seemingly unrelated to selling cars." But Audi said that the "notion of progress is at the core of its brand" (ADWEEK.com, 2/1).
CALIFORNIA ON MY MIND: AUTOMOTIVE NEWS' Vince Bond Jr. noted Toyota "isn’t running a national Super Bowl spot this year, but the brand plans to showcase the hydrogen-powered Mirai on a smaller stage in California." Toyota is going to "pitch the Mirai in a spot" for the L.A. and S.F. markets that is "expected to air during a break between the second quarter and halftime of the Super Bowl." California is the "only state where the Mirai is sold" (AUTONEWS.com, 2/1).
