HomeNintendo with Nicole Kidman (huh?!)
Jun 28, 2007, 06:27 PM | by Bethonie Butler
Categories: Advertising, Games
G'day PopWatchers. Like many of you I go way back with Nintendo. I reigned over
Super Mario games as a sassy Princess Peach, tilted a faux firearm at cartoon
ducks, and rejoiced after beating the entire Zelda game one afternoon after
school. (All right, so it was over a period of time, but still pretty impressive
for a 10-year-old.) So for me, the word Nintendo conjures fond memories of
floating skirts, (wo)man vs. self, and Koji Kondo-composed soundtracks.
But alas, Nintendo is more than a childhood memory. It is a brand — both retro (see: merchandise at Hot Topic) and modern (see: Wii remote-yielding gamers). Adding to its modern appeal is Nintendo's new famous (like A-list famous!) face: Nicole Kidman.
Am I the only one who finds this strange? And I get that it's totally the point to think it's strange, but at the same time, I still can't wrap my head around it. I don't have to check my famous people I'd want to play Nintendo with list (what, don't you have one?) to know that Nicole Kidman ain't on it.
I should mention that the game company's marketing campaign isn't about playing Nintendo with other people. Kidman is the face of the DS game More Brain Training, which follows last year's Brain Age and tests users on mental aptitude. The campaign aims to bring the company's name to the masses (or at least the segment of the masses that doesn't include teenage boys). Still, while it's not exactly Zelda, it's weird to see the Moulin Rouge star squinting into the screen of a Nintendo DS.
Here, the Aussie actress appears to have sought solace from Puffy's Labor Day "White Party" to do some brain exercises. And while I think she's very pretty and love the way she pronounces the word rock, she doesn't make me want to go out and get my mind game on. Besides — Rock, Paper, Scissors? Is this how the Oscar-winner challenges herself? Tell me, PopWatchers, am I stuck in my old Duck Hunt-gun-toting ways? Is Nicole's ad fresh and intriguing? Should I pass the controller?
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