The first UK television advertisement for the new Wii U console aired tonight, shown in a commercial break during an episode of the TV series Homeland.
Narrated by British comedian Adam Buxton, the advert did its best to show off the core features of Nintendo's new system, such as the GamePad's fancy touchscreen and the ability to play on the GamePad when your other half wants to use the TV.
Curiously lacking was the name 'Nintendo' and we were rather surprised to see New Super Mario Bros. U relegated to a 'blink and you'll miss it' appearance.
What are your thoughts on the advert? Does it hit all the right buttons, or do you think Nintendo could have made a bigger splash with the first UK Wii U commercial? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source youtube.com]
Comments 65
Saw it on TV, can't wait! ^^
SOLD.....about 2 months ago lol
It's about time they show Wii U to the public!
Subliminal advertising from Brad Pitt at the start there
Aside from it being far too long, it's not a great advert. Personally I'd show off the games rather than the concept. Seems to show a lack of faith in the launch line-up if everything is rapid-fire like that
@gazplant. it had to show the difference between the wii and wii u first. the general public needs to know it is a different console before you show off games.
This commercial is some what like able. It gets the point across that Wii U is a new console, but it's not that great at making you want to go out and buy one. I can't wait to see some of the commercials in NoA ( I have yet to see one, and it's almost time for the Wii U to be released here ).
Wow, that was faster than I expected.
I'd say it's a pretty good ad.
That gets the point across pretty well about it being a whole new console and should lighten up some of the confusion around Wii being in the name; can't wait to see some games get advertised.
Really excited, especially because it is less than a month away here in NA!
I feel like the ad isn't very creative for Nintendo. It's missing a certain charm or branding to it to make it unique. It feels more like an infomercial Or other generic commercial than a Nintendo ad. But maybe that's just me.
wow, that sucked!
The Brad Pitt ad that came before it is better.
Also, I love how they're selling the detective feature on Batman, when it was in the original game and they use it about 4 times.
^^^^^^^^how was that lame. it did its purpose. and what do you mean no advertising? of course they will. this is the crucial point right now.
It does lack a flair, but they wanted to absolutely avoid the issue of people not getting it's a new system.
"This is not DS, this is 3DS", for example.
Remember that they are advertising a whole console and not an individual game.
The whole joy of a visual medium like TV is that you can show, not tell.
But in this case telling really is necessary.
It's a start. Got to the point of showing why it's a different system and the features. It seem rushed and stuffed together but then again it's a tv ad.
I can imagine the NA version would show it off with more action and less words like the wii and 3ds.
Seems more like box ticking than a creative advertisement. It makes its point, but I think it could have had a bigger impact by taking a slightly different tack.
This ad looks pretty nice...I like his English accent... XD..
That was terrible. I couldn't finish watching it.
Please...let the North American commercials be better than this.
I think it kind of works. It more or less says: "I'm new and shiny, buy me!" to the average consumer and children. It made me want one even more and it didn't even say anything interesting!
In my local GAME, the white model is sold out while the black is still in stock....
P,S. I think Brad Pitt was the best bit!!
Not great but I'm glad that it clearly got the message that it's a brand new console. Come on december!
It got straight to the point but it could have been better. They need to show off a LOT more games because in the end, that's all society cares about unfortunately, no fancy features, they just want appealing gameplay videos along with the system.
how about that writing/acting! "I'd like to watch the TV now..."
I also find it very strange to leave out the name Nintendo completely. I miss the days where the console was simply "the Nintendo." And now they've moved so far away from that that they don't even bother mentioning their name.
Quite good, i mean could have been better, the lack of Nintendo being mentioned i also thought was a bit puzzling, but does its purpose and good to see ad's now getting in front of the general public is always good.
Its pretty good. They used their minute quite well. But, they shouldn't focus too much on the features on the Wii U, but rather the games, or history will be repeated...
Saw a little bit of Toki Tori 2 in there. I wasn't expecting that.
It is safe to say I am really xcited about the console. Yesterday I turned in my 360 for good and now have crowned myself poster boy for the Wii U!
@Link-Hero Exactly. If all they did was focus on the games, there's a pretty good chance that there would still be a fair amount of confusion surrounding the name and people could potentially think they could play them on the Wii as well.
Right now(about a month before launch, at least for NA) is a good time to at least try to clear up things about what this truly is, a successor, and then closer to launch they could put more focus on the games once everyone is more familiar with the first part. That shouldn't be bad at all considering that the system actually has a (decent) launch lineup, unlike the 3DS.
What a terrible advert.
They're facing the same problem as they had with the 3DS - it's not clear to the casual audience that it's a new console (doesn't help that it looks and sounds so much like the last one). Just looks like it's an ad for a PSP like handheld that works with a Wii. I'm sure once the games start rolling out, it'll take off - just not in the crazy way the Wii did.
This ad is for the people who have no clue that the Wii U is a new console, dare I say 'casual,' not to show you what games it has, that gets covered in commercials for an individual game.
Although, one thing they should have done is change 'you' with 'U,' and any 'e' with 'ii.'
I miss @Waltz already...
@SigouneyBeaver Agreed really really bad advert
and did the narrator actually go ''pue pue pue'' for gun sound effects
@PinkSpider I was really embarrased when he went "pue pue pue". Seriously, I loooked around to see if I was really alone.
Anyway, that was a really unimaginative run-of-the-mill advert. I would expect Nintendo to be more creative.
That ad is completely devoid of the Nintendo vibe in every way. Where's the Nintendo feel? Where's Mario? Where's what makes Nintendo special? Pretty appalling attempt at advertising in my opinion.
Haha the funny thing is that most of the people who didn't like the ad were probably american but they don't realise that their ads suck monkeyballs!
@LavaTwilight This has nothing to do with the ad being British or American. It's a bad ad, period. BTW, I'm Brazilian.
@LavaTwilight Have you never watched the Super Bowl?
I think it's hard to have an opinion on whether the ad was any good or not. It's clearly not aimed at the majority of people who frequent this site ― those people already know more about the console than an ad on TV could tell them.
I'd guess that the advert will do it's job, which is to get people talking about the console, asking questions and finding out more. After the console's release, they'll probably show game-specific adverts for some games like ZombiU and NSMBU.
Maybe they can make a ad spot to air on Toonami? Showing off ZombieU and other WiiU exclusives that would appeal to the Toonami/adult swim crowd?
Every ad that has been created for anything has always sucked donkey kong balls. That is time better spent going to the bathroom or fetching another beer from the fridge Nobody watches commercials anymore.
Ads like this are aimed at the general public and i think this one gets the job done nicely. It introduces the Wii U as a NEW system and not a repackaged Wii which seems to be a popular misconception and focuses on its "unique selling point" the Gamepad.
yeah this seems odd and bad ad to me... mostly cuz it seems like a third party made this and not nintendo at all i still remember the wii commercials and those were odd but got your attention and still got to the point of things o.o 2 guys in a small car asking if you want to play why not? xD
but anyway i do like that they mention its a new console and a new controller style to play and yes it is aimed at those ppl who dont know what this console is guess us who do know will get our ad later on?
It's good that Nintendo are starting to release advertisements, which I have been stressing they should do. Now people are going to actually know about the Wii U.
@PoshSnivy This is true. They certainly took their time.
@LavaTwilight like void said, have you ever watched the super bowl? The commercials are so good, that I watch it just for that. This ad is very informative, and not that entertaining. I think everyone here can agree that it gets the point across that Wii U is a new console, no matter how boring this commercial may be to some of us.
As someone who's ragged on Nintendo UK's ultra-bland/cheesy style of advertising in the last generation, i thought that was pretty decent. I was pleasantly surprised (though that may just be because my expectations were so low, having seen the things I've seen with how they marketed the Wii...)
So goodbye to white sofas and idyllic smiling families? Cool!
Finally, Nintendo is telling the public what the Wii U is. And it's not a bad commercial either They especially needed to get that point across at the very starting. It's a NEW CONSOLE.
There's only so much you can get into an advert nowadays, and theres so much to say about the Wii U. I'd personally like to see a range of adverts, or a story. The #1 reason to play and so on is great, but why not have a dozen different commercials, and play 2 a week or something until launch, counting down the best reasons to play it! Too late now i suppose.
Good advert though. I'd also like to see specific adverts for games, a ZombiU one I'm sure will come in time, and you always see multiplatform games advertised for the 360 or PS3, it'd be good to see one for the WiiU now!
@Sun
One can only hope. The "let's have a 'nauseatingly twee family in creepily perfect home, smiling at things' commercial for every single game" approach will hopefully be retired with the Wii, but I shan't hold my breath.
Yay, Buxton!
I wasn't too bothered about the ad. At least it's a step in the right direction - away from cringeworthy B-List celebrity endorsements.
No offence but why wasn't this included in the X Factor ad breaks,as it would've reached much more people than the people watching Homeland.
Pikaaaaaaaaawiiuuuu! Chu.
Blegh... It tries to be fast, hip and lacks enthusiasm. I just wanna see people in Mario costumes dancing while juggling WiiU gamepads and fighting off the Nintendoland version of Ridley.
@McHaggis
Agreed.
This is about educating the wider audience, and it does a decent job. Hopefully, there's a similar one that addresses group play, because that will be a big strength and this doesn't hint at it.
I think it's a very good ad. But then I despise 99% of advertising so maybe I have "bad" taste in ads. This is my kind of ad.
The last ad campaign I can remember really, really liking was the Volkswagen "It's time to unpimp the auto" ads. When I was fast-forwarding through ads on the DVR I'd spot one of those and back up and watch it. Then rewind and watch it again. And again.
i'm not sure this is a very good commercial but it's alright.
Choice of narrator is top-notch, as any discerning Brit will know. Apart from that, I reckon it's pretty good. The slightest hint of humour - not something Nintendo's commercials are well known for (no, the ads with various celebrities pretending to play the Wii don't count), and it works.
It's also not trying to appeal to the heads, bear in mind - if a wide audience isn't ensnared at first, then third-party developers won't exactly return in droves. As long as the marketing learns from what the Wii did right and wrong, it'll be fine.
It needs to come across as populist, yet credible - a balancing act the Wii didn't manage all the way to the end. To be fair, a mix of ZombiU and the new Mario Bros game would've done it. Whether ZombiU will actually be any good, though, time will tell.
@GazPlant At least it is not the final subliminal messages from "Fight Club"....
why would people think its an add on? xbox 360 wasnt an accessory for the original xbox was it? what is everyones problem with the ad, i thought it was fine,
So question, if this is a UK ad why did they show the Nintendoland Bundle and not the ZombiU bundle? Are they offering both in the UK?
Brad Pitt at the beginning XD
@Haywired Good definition of the Wii games advertisements.
Not a bad commercial! Hopefully it does pull in the crowd!!
I just started laughing at the pew pew part lol. But their software commercials are much more memorable.
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