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Donkey Kong 64 Marketing Campaign
Donkey Kong 64 will be a shining example of what a game can do. Of course, it will be the best game ever played by a member of the human race, but what about the things outside the game? There are many features Nintendo is implementing to attract the attention of gamers everywhere, and so far, they sound like they will indeed do the job.
Advertisement: Nintendo of America has long since announced that Donkey Kong 64 will have an advertising campaign worth over 12 million dollars. We haven't seen much yet, because Donkey Kong 64 still has over two months until release. You should expect to start seeing Nintendo's hard-earned 12 mil being put to use starting in October. We have already seen Nintendo blatantly use Donkey Kong to sell such games as Mario Golf, so we already know his marketing potential. In
fact, we have just learned that Nintendo signed a deal with Dr Pepper, and the big guy will be appearing on millions of cans of the brown liquid. Until said otherwise, we hereby declare Dr Pepper as the official drink of the DKU! And that's not all, young ones! One of our prestegious Vine reporters was at Wal-Mart, and he spotted a picture of DK 76 feet away in the Electronics department. Upon closer inspection,
he realized that it was a Donkey Kong 64 promtional thing-o. So everyone rush out to Wal Mart to get one of these snazzy promotional things! NOW! Hold on, there, because Nintendo has recently started to jack up the promotion, and we are seeing the glorious results and promises. First, starting in October, we can all see shiny DK64 commericals in actual movie theaters! I'm not lying. I'm serious! You don't believe me? Look
at my eyes. Do those look like lying eyes to you? No, they do not. But be warned, nothing will be safe from the hairy ape. Turn on the TV, and you'll see Donkey Kong. Open a magazine, you'll see Donkey Kong. Eat breakfast cereal, and you'll see Donkey Kong. Nintendo will be going for the "false hallucination" strategy for Donkey Kong 64, in which they trick you into thinking you're going crazy, seeing DK everywhere. In fact, if you've been watching television since November 1st (1999 if you're reading this in the far future) you may have seen the first television ad for Donkey Kong 64 hit the airwaves. Here's a shaky rundown of what happens on the commercial. A police officier and his men is holding a press conference in what appears to be New York City. The officer tells the press that they are looking for five individuals. Cut to game scenes of Donkey Kong 64 and a narrator telling everbody "It's Donkey Kong 64!" The ad then switches back and forth from the aftermath of the Kong's "crime wave" to game footage. During the "crime wave" scenes, we learn that a stereotypical taxi driver from India got his cab smashed up by the Kongs, and the taxi driver isn't too happy as is cab is crushed and smoldering. The police officer tells us that they are heavily armed....with fruit. The narrator tells us over game footage that the game is so big that they had to throw in an expansion pak. Inside police HQ, an officer holds up a sketch of what they believe one of the fugitives looks like (it's a sketch of Lanky's face). More game footage and narrator talking is thrown into the mix, and then the commercial ends with the taxi driver shouting "THEY DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE A TIP!" The stereotype then throws a half smashed melon that was next to him down onto the busted cab. We are then led to believe that the driver breaks down emotionally and is forced into a "protective jacket." This commercial was good, clearly not the masterpiece that we at the site were hoping for, but it does promote the game. So far it's been spotted on TNT and TBS. Another version has been spotted as well, a LONGER version. It's basically the same thing, but with added comedy footage. Maybe I should say "comedy." The added footage included a guy reporting the news as the rampage occured, a guy reporting the rampage in a helicopter, a SWAT team getting shot down with fruit, a rich politician guy getting pelted with fruit, and a preacher man with an Irish accent talking about the Kong's rampage, and then ending the commercial by asking Heaven to help us all. Then he gets hit with a banana peel. These longer segments made the commercial better and come together smoother. So far these commercials have been spotted on TNT, TBS, WGN (a Chicago station that reaches far out into the United States), MTV, Comedy Central, the WB, and has also been reported to be seen on Channel One News (a United States public school daily news show). If you've seen it anywhere else, let us know!
Demonstrations: Don't even start. Just go to the Donkey Kong 64 Demo Booth
Self-promotion: This mainly applies towards Nintendo's own magazine, Nintendo Power. Recently, we have seen them give Donkey and cohorts the cold shoulder in favor of Pikachu's ugly, marketable hide. The October 1999 issue of Nintendo Power will be different, though. They have already promised an in-depth preview. Not to mention November 1999, the month we are all waiting for, should not disappoint. Now that we know that (ugh) P---mon Stadium has been delayed until next year, there should be nothing to hold back the gigantic flow of Donkey Kong 64.
Packaging: This is the biggest plus-side to Donkey Kong 64's selling campaign. We have all seen yellow cartridges for games, but did you ever wonder where that idea originated from? Back in 1995, a little Game Boy game called Donkey Kong Land was released that gave a jump-kick back into the 8-bit system's life. All of those cartridges, however, were "Banana Yellow". Then, the yellow cartridge
legacy was continued with Donkey Kong Land 2 and III. For a few years, colored cartridges were forgotten. Then, people who reserved Zelda 64 were granted golden carts, and those who reserved Turok 2 got black. But now, the biggest game ever, Donkey Kong 64, has finally been confirmed of a colored cartridge. We've created a conceptual render of what we believe the cart will look like, and you have probably already located it above the text you are reading.
But wait, there's more. Since Donkey Kong 64 is going to be such an incredibly huge game, it deserves more than just a colored cart. So, those of you who are planning on buying a Nintendo 64 soon, perk up your ears! Nintendo will be packaging Donkey Kong 64 and the required Expansion Pak with a Nintendo 64 system and a controller. Big deal, you say, somewhat sarcastically. Well, it is! The Nintendo 64 will not be plain black, nor will the controller be boring gray. They will both be clear "Jungle Green"! Yes, that's right. Move over, Atomic Purple, and make way for the clear see-throughability of Jungle Green! All this for the incredibly low price of $129.99!
Donkey Kong 64 will be a game like no other, and obviously, is deserving of a huge advertising campaign. Thankfully, Nintendo realizes this, and is giving the gorilla what he deserves.
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