Nintendo never did edgy particularly well and this response to Sega’s “Blast Processing” campaign was particularly disastrous. The final shot of the commercial showed the words “Play It Loud” (Nintendo’s marketing slogan at the time) splattered on a wall in bile.Įven though most games were still targeted at children, game advertising in the mid-to-late 90s was rife with this kind of disgusting imagery and low-brow double entendres. Taking the phrase, “So full, I could burst” literally, the camera pulled back and focused on the man’s engorged stomach as he exploded in a spray of undigested food, internal viscera, and what can only be described as slop.
But there was room for a little more as the man reached for a fingerful of whipped cream. Up until this point, this real-life Homer Simpson was a disgusting reminder that video game commercials had reached a low point in the mid 90s. And then, with spittle dripping down his chin, he groans out, “No more!” He gorges on fried chicken, spaghetti, pastries, Jello, and other indescribable “delicacies.” His waistband expands. The man is glistening with flop sweat and his clothes are covered in grease stains. The remaining 24 seconds show a slovenly, obese man sitting down for a multi-course meal at a restaurant. The advertisement is 30 seconds in length, however only six seconds of the spot are devoted to images from Super Mario World 2. VGC Essays are original articles discussing each title from the Video Game Canon, as well as their place in gaming history, how the community embraced them in the past, and how they might help shape games in the present day. Though they might not have known exactly which game it was promoting, I guarantee that everyone remembers the commercial Nintendo used to sell Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island in America. While it’s Fall 1995 release was overshadowed by the launch of the Sega Saturn and the Sony PlayStation, a dedicated cult following has built up around the game over the years. Serving as a prequel to the entire Super Mario franchise, Yoshi’s Island introduced Baby Mario to the world and tasked Yoshi with protecting the infant from Baby Bowser. Most fans refer to the game as just “Yoshi’s Island,” because it’s such a departure from the rest of the franchise to that point, and because the “Super Mario World 2” print on the game’s box is almost invisible (and the subtitle was dropped completely in Japan). Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island was released for the Super NES in 1995 and starred the titular dinosaur in his first solo adventure. I’m just guessing here, but I’d imagine that many Mario fans have no idea a sequel to Super Mario World even exists. This VGC Essay was first published on February 10, 2017
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