First of all, Splatoon is a bad name for a game. I don’t care if it’s an animated paint shooting game that involves paint splatter and cartoons, find a different name. More importantly, don’t advertise the game with some of the most annoying music ever created.
Ok, take a few seconds to recover. I get that Nintendo’s market is kids and being flashy and colorful is important but maybe they could have reconsidered the musical portion of the ad. The repetition and whiny high voice combine for 30 infuriating seconds. If the “you’re a squid now, you’re a kid now” didn’t annoy the viewer enough the ad ends with a bang (of terribleness) with the seemingly broken record version of the word Splatoon. The game actually looks like a good game. It involves shooting one’s opponents without the blood or death, making an ideal games for kids who might have picked up Call of Duty instead. It’s too bad any one with the ability to purchase the game (the parents) would be too turned off by the commercial to buy it.
Here’s the second ad if you’re up to the challenge.
Count me out.
Ad Grade: D-
