news via spong

Marketing website, Brand Republic, is reporting that Nintendo of Japan has forced its U.K. division to change the forthcoming television ads for the UK Wii launch.

“It is understood that the Japanese video-games company was unhappy with the documentary-style launch ads, created by Leo Burnett, and stepped in to make them "look more like ads", according to a source.

(Ad Agency) Leo Burnett had been expected to handle the launch of the console across Europe. However, UK marketing director Dawn Paine said that the agency would not be working on the pan-European launch campaign, but declined to comment on the identity of the agency tasked with handling the launch.”


SPOnG has contacted Nintendo for comment and we’ve been sent the press statement post-haste. It says, ““Nintendo UK is very pleased with the Wii TV advertising campaign that Leo Burnetts UK have created. We have decided to run this campaign, which conveys the emotional response and sheer fun factor that Wii delivers in the New Year when we broaden our communication to a wider audience from gamer to non gamer alike."

That’s OK then.