QUOTE
	"If Nintendo wants to appeal to the middle-aged and senior citizens, airing commercials in Adult Swim and during Stargate isn't going to cut it."

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The scene opens on a department store. An elderly couple, late sixties or early seventies, is walking in through the automatic doors. "I'm going to pick up a few things," the woman says. "Why don't you stay here and try out the video games, or something?"

"Video games are for kids!" the old man snaps, but his wife has already left. He sidles up behind two children who are checking out the Revolution demo. He appears somewhat intrigued, as the kids are controlling Mario solely by hand movement, and they don't seem to be using buttons very much, if at all.

After a couple of seconds, the kids get called away, and the old man is left staring at the Revolution demo station. He checks to see if anyone is looking, then creeps towards the free-hand controller. One more glance around him, and the old man gingerly picks up the controller and begins the game.

At first, he is confused. He makes a few tenuous movements, then says, "When I move it, he moves!" All of a sudden, he is engrossed in the gameplay. He sends Mario careening through the air, slides puzzle blocks around and takes part in a few new game genres. Just as the game montage reaches its climax, everything stops. The old man is walking away from the display with a sack in his hand bearing the Nintendo logo--he has just bought a system.

His wife finds him. "Oh, what did you get?"

"Just a little... something," he says knowingly.

"Here," she says, reaching into her own bag, "I got you a present. What do you think?" She places a red cap on his head.

The old man quickly looks back at the display. Mario's face is filling the screen, and he winks at the old man. The scene cuts back, and the old man winks in return. The resemblance is unmistakable.

"I like it," he says.

The screen cuts to black, saying, "Revolution: Everyone Is Welcome." Then, it cuts to the Nintendo logo while Mario's voice shouts "Hah-ha!" in the background.

Nintendo advertising has obviously seen its ups and downs over the past two decades. Some commercials that made no sense whatsoever ("Zelda? ZELDA!!!) have been successful, while others have been less so (the Super Mario Sunshine ads come to mind). I keep saying this over and over, but if Nintendo wants to reach new audiences with the Revolution, then we are going to HAVE to see some new, fresh ads, and see them in different places. If Nintendo wants to appeal to the middle-aged and senior citizens, airing commercials in Adult Swim and during Stargate isn't going to cut it. Every time I see a Nintendo ad during shows I watch, I immediately think, "Well, they've reached me, but they already had me. Who else is seeing this?" Most of the time, it's people who are in the same demographic as I am.

Having an older man be the mascot for my mocked-up series of ads is, I think, an important aspect of this. If older people see kids, or even younger adults, playing Revolution all the time, they won't think "This is for me," even if the commercials are aired in the right time slots. The main character in the above scenario-- let's call him Old Man Murray, because that sounds a little like Mario-- is at first both uninterested and, to a lesser extent, threatened by video games, but the interface is so easy to pick up that he falls in love with the console in a few short minutes.

Of course, older people aren't the only audience for which Revolution is intended. It's important that Nintendo link this series of ads together.

Old Man Murray answers the door. A younger man, in his early twenties, is standing there.

"Hey, Grandpa," says the younger man. "Just thought I'd come by and see you."

Murray invites him in, and the two head into his TV room. Murray picks up a Revolution controller. "You want to play a video game?" he asks.

"What the heck is this?" the grandson asks, checking out the controller. "This is weird. I think I'll just stick to my X-Station 6." He drops it on the table.

"Afraid your Grandpa's gonna beat you?" Murray taunts.

"Let's go," he says, snatching the controller back. As they start out, the grandson says, "What? You just use one hand? What do you do with the other one, wave?"

Soon, he is too involved with the game to deride the controller anymore. The two begin playing Super Smash Bros. Revolution, and after a few scenes of gameplay, which the grandson is clearly enjoying beyond all reason, Old Man Murray breaks out another two controllers.

"You want to use both hands?" he asks. The two begin playing Donkey Konga with the controllers as drumsticks, jungle-jamming with the beat. The grandson gets so pumped up that he begins dancing in time with the music as well.

"That was pretty cool," the grandson says as the play session winds down. Looking at the small console, he asks, "How much did you say it cost, again?"

Murray pulls the red cap down on his head. "It's surprisingly affordable," he says.

Again the screen cuts to black, saying, "Revolution: Everyone Is Welcome." Then again, it cuts to the Nintendo logo while Mario's voice shouts "Hah-ha!" in the background.

Probably, we could have Murray say the real price were it actually known. If Nintendo is smart, Revolution will be priced at $99. A lot of people, especially gamers who already have other systems, will be more than likely to pick it up if the system is that inexpensive, and pretty much everyone in general is more apt to take a risk if it isn't too pricey.

Video game players are primarily male, and even though Nintendo has brought some more female gamers into the fold with Nintendogs and Animal Crossing, it's important to keep appealing to them as the system is unveiled.

Old Man Murray's grandson pours himself some coffee and walks into his own living room, where his girlfriend/wife is playing a Revolution game. She is twisting back and forth in a circular motion, then staring at the screen.

"What are you playing?" he asks.

"Mario Golf," she says. "I'm two under par, but the guy I'm playing against is pretty good."

He takes a sip of coffee, then appears to think twice, as it is too hot. "Playing against? There's nobody here, is there?" He looks around.

"No, I'm playing online," she says.

"I didn't know Nintendo went online."

"Sure. You don't have to go online, but Revolution has free wireless access through the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, so it's easy to play against people anywhere. You can set up a friends list with people you already know, plus, you can play against people with your skill level or against opponents anywhere." She looks at the screen. "I can't believe he just did that!"

"Let me guess," he says. "You're not playing against someone with the same skill level as you."

"I can hold my own," she says, swinging the controller again. "I'm just having an off day." Suddenly, the online opponent scores a hole-in-one. "Oh, are you kidding me? Who could be this good? Who?!"

Old Man Murray is grinning at the screen. "Another hole-in-one," he says.

Revolution: Everyone is Welcome

These are obviously just some suggestions at how Nintendo could approach advertising for the Revolution, but it's clear to me that some changes are going to have to be made from the current situation. Nintendo has already approached this somewhat with the hiring of a new ad agency, but it'll take rethinking its current ad strategy, just as Revolution itself is a rethinking of how video games are played.

Oh, and also, if Nintendo or any ad agency likes my ideas enough to use them, or wants to offer me work, feel free to contact me. I'll certainly be willing to consider any offers that were thrown my way. Hint, hint.

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