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You got Mega Man ZX Advent commercials
Striking while Mega Man ZX is still fresh in our minds (and our Sales posts), Capcom has two new commercials advertising the action platformer's sequel, Mega Man ZX Advent, for its Japan release this July 12th. The US version won't arrive until October, but we love to oversaturate our minds with previews and media to the point where we lose interest in a game long before it even hits store shelves. Depressing, isn't it?If you enjoyed the anime cut-scenes that were scattered throughout Mega Man ZX, you'll be happy to see their return with these clips of Grey -- one of the two new heroes in Advent -- dodging about a jillion bullets and lasers. Jump past the post break and defeat one of the Pseudoroid bosses for the video.
More Phantom Hourglass commercials for Japan, nothing for us
Whether it's shields or mini-sites, we can't seem to stop torturing ourselves with Phantom Hourglass news. We're actually physically pained by the fact that Japan will be receiving the game as early as next week; meanwhile, we're still waiting for a US release date to be announced, wallowing in self-pity with nothing but Destination Software's Chicken Shoot to look forward to. We want to chase chickens into corners, carry them over our heads, or even slash at them with a sword until a flood of poultry pour into our screens to defend their friend -- not shoot at them! We cry fowl at Chicken Shoot!Nintendo's latest commercial for The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass depicts a young girl finding clues, taking notes, and counting Link's steps to unlock one of the game's many secrets. As you'll see past the post break, no chickens were harmed in the making of the video.%Gallery-3279%
Great moments in game ad cheese
We like to complain about misleading CG sequences being passed off as gameplay, but a quick pass over these Top 10 Cheesiest Classic Game Commericals confirms that we really don't have a leg to stand on in the being tricked department. Take for instance, this Pole Position ad that implies the game replicates the thrill of having God pick up your family car and transform it into four race cars which you then drive until all of you explode. It almost makes us nostalgic for an era when we could still feel that way ... or at least be fooled into believing that we would.Also, you won't want to miss the Bezerk ad, which features a theme song so awful that, were cavemen to hear it, they would invent fire just so they could throw their sun-dried zebra skin drums into it and stop music from ever existing. But with only 10 ads here, are there any of your favorites left off the list?
Zaprudering the iPhone Commercials: Maps
Wow. The things you can learn from Apple commercials. Notice anything about that map icon? It looked mighty familiar to me and as TUAW reader Brian noted in our comments, that's a wee stylized image of 1 Infinite Loop, Apple Headquarters--or at least...kind of. The arrow looks more like it's on North de Anza Boulevard than Infinite Loop itself, but it's close enough for me. Here are a bunch of other things I've noticed about iPhone maps. We got a great look at the keyboard interface, when doing the Maps search. The QWERTY keyboard includes a shift button, a delete button, an option to switch to a numeric view, and a search button (which I assume is the same as "return").It looks like the interaction order is: Search, select a pin, press the (>) button on the link, and then view the location information. Pacific Catch is a real restaurant. I called it up and spoke briefly to a hostess named Fancy (like the adjective). "We've been getting calls all morning from all over the country. People want to know if we're a real business. We are." %Gallery-3638%
The Ouendan experience
With only a week to go before its release in Japan, Nintendo has put up a suite of videos for Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. In addition to the traditional commercial spot and gameplay trailer, there are five "experience" clips showing people tapping and singing along with the rhythm title's songs. We would post videos of our own experiences with Ouendan, but they'd consist of us sobbing in a corner as we played through "Over the Distance," a heart-rending ghost love story that calls for you to reunite a restless spirit with his grieving girlfriend for one last goodbye. We haven't cried that much since the last time we saw Grave of the Fireflies. Oh the humanity! Bring a tissue when you saunter past the post break for the melancholic scene from the original Ouendan game.
Harvest Moon Crossing
Harvest Moon DS saw its US release over half a year ago, but the colorful farming sim didn't cross the Atlantic until earlier this month. A TV commercial advertising the game has been airing in the UK, and we were surprise to see how similar its presentation is to Nintendo's commercials for Animal Crossing: Wild World in Japan and Europe.AC:WW was an indisputable success sales-wise in every territory, so we can see why Nintendo would want to mimic its marketing push with Harvest Moon DS. Compare the video clips yourself after the post break to see what we mean.
XM hit with false advertising lawsuit over "commercial free" claims
Talk about a company that can't stay out of the courtroom. Yet again, we've got XM headed back for another round of sticky legal action, and while we highly doubt the firm's lawyers are done digesting the NMPA suit from less than a month ago, now it's being forced to deal with an Arkansas man's allegations in US District Court. Matthew Enderlin is apparently quite upset with XM's "false claims of commercial free music," as he adumbrates that the channels actually do include "promotional and advertisement segments." Unsurprisingly, XM has said the suit is "without merit," but Mr. Enderlin isn't backing down; au contraire, he's actually seeking to "have the suit certified as a class-action suit so all XM Radio customers can be considered plaintiffs." Bet you weren't expecting to join in on the fun yourself, eh?[Via Orbitcast]
KFC ad agency strikes again with "Mosquito tone" commercial
Even though its food tastes like crap, you have to give poultry kingpin KFC credit for thinking outside the, um, bucket when it comes to TV spots, using innovative commercials to lure unsuspecting folks into purchasing its slop. You probably remember the company's last high-profile ad which forced viewers to watch in slo-mo in order to get the password for a free sandwich, and now it's utilizing that supposedly "kids-only," high-pitched ringtone in an attempt to drum up interest in the new Boneless Variety Bucket. At some point during the ad for this family-friendly meal, the so-called "Mosquito" tone is played in the background (check it after the break; we could easily hear the obnoxious cacophony, although that may be due to the YouTube conversion process), and the first 1,000 kids who correctly guess where the sound was placed get $10 in KFC gift certificates (just enough to cover the $9.99 Variety Bucket, but tax is coming out of their allowances). With such a small number of prizes in play, it would seem that the home of finger-lickin' good chicken learned its lesson from the DVR ad, meaning that all of the coupons will probably be gone by the time the contest answer is leaked onto the internet. Still, no matter how many people win or lose, KFC is getting a whole lot of free advertising out of this promotion -- so watch the commercial or not, the Colonel always comes out on top.
New Mii commercials
Nintendo is preparing to roll out a new set of commercials to promote character creation with the Mii Channel. These virtual avatars have been used to create everything from mug shots to the cast of The Office. It's one of the most unique and people-friendly features of the Wii -- perfect bait to reel in the non-gaming crowd.The commercials are appearing just in time to combat the excitement over Sony's PlayStation Home. The Mii Channel is simple, but not very powerful. PlayStation Home aims to give us full control over our avatar's appearance and even customize an apartment. And that's only the beginning. Making Miis with funny noses is fun, but are we ready for something more substantial?Both Mii commercials will be appearing on a TV near you starting next week. You can watch the videos on YouTube or Nintendo's Mii MySpace page.
Super Bowl gadget commercial highlights
Just in cased you missed the cultural institution that is Super Bowl commercial watching (wait, there's a football game in there somewhere?), this year produced a couple definite must-sees for the Engadget nerderati. Our personal fav was Garmin's Garmin Man vs. Maposaurus Ultraman homage, although Sprints connectile dysfunction faux-infomercial wasn't too bad either. Check out the videos after the break.
It's time for Super Bowl commercials!
In roughly an hour the world's most watched television broadcast will begin. Super Bowl XLI will kick off in Florida tonight with the Colts pitted against the Bears (that's American football for those of you who don't know). But why do we bring up a sports event on an Xbox 360 fansite? Well, there is a very good reason for that ... commercials! Tonight, during the game, watch for any video game related commercials. Rumor has it that Coke will be airing their GTA inspired commercial during the football game. And although not video game related, the guys over at Digg just might be in GoDaddy's commercial. Just keep your eyes peeled and feel free to discuss your favorite commercials ... let the pizza eating begin!
Already sexy, TiVo brings fast forward ads back
There's nothing that DVR owners like more than a good commercial, so TiVo subscribers will be overjoyed to learn that the company has once again begun overlaying advertisements to entertain viewers during those interminable seconds it takes to fast forward from one TV segment to another. Wait a minute, that's not right. There's nothing that DVR owners hate more than commercials, which is one of the reasons that they pay a monthly fee for the privilege of zipping through Madison Avenue's wares. Well despite the fact that reactions were pretty negative the first time TiVo decided to drop banner ads on top of the fast forward screen, apparently the still shots (and their resulting revenue) were popular enough among company execs to warrant a second go-round. Unlike the initial implementation, however, these new ads supposedly mirror the commercials being skipped; so if you're zooming past a BMW ad, for instance, you'll likely see pics of a German luxury car superimposed on the content being ignored. Also back on the scene are the little green on-screen "thumbs up" icons that allow you to use your remote to access -- you guessed it -- even more commercials. With all the menu screen, post-roll, and now fast forward pitches that TiVo owners have to deal with, we're wondering if the company should take a page from Web 2.0 and drop the subscription fee altogether in favor of a strictly ad-based model. Either way, when the firestorm of Engadget ads begins hitting the airwaves, we promise not to subject our dear readers to this kind of treatment -- but only because our 1337 commercials will be disabling your remotes.[Via PVR Wire]
TiVo Program Placement adds post-roll ad option to recordings
In a move that satisfies its never ending quests to both develop new revenue streams as well as assist advertisers in counteracting the commercial-skipping culture that it helped create, TiVo has unveiled a new initiative that will tack targeted ads onto the end of subscribers' recorded programs. This so-called "Program Placement" service will exist completely outside the world of traditional 30-second spots, and allows companies to append their commercials to the end of whatever show they please; if you've recorded That's So Raven, for instance, you might get hit with an ad for Disney's Mix Max PMP, or perhaps a pitch for the latest birdsong clock from the Audubon Society. Luckily for customers, the ads will not start playing until the user gives the okay on a post-program splash screen, though apparently the content is downloaded before that decision is made -- so either way, some of your precious hard drive space will be gobbled up, at least temporarily. So far Burger King, GM, and The Weather Channel have signed up to get their post-roll on, with BK's offering seemingly the most ambitious: instead of some long-winded spiel about how great the new Octo Stacker is, viewers have the option of exploring interactive content and getting to really know The King and his Big Huckin' Chicken. Since TiVo cheerleader and all-around good guy Dave Zatz seems tolerant of this new "feature," we suppose that we'll get used to it too, but if the DVR DMR giant starts pulling this crap at the beginning of our recordings too, well, we're gonna get back to that MythTV box which is still sitting half-finished on our workbench.Read- Press releaseRead- AdWeek[Via Zatz Not Funny]
Video Sandwich: October 30, 2006
Vroom, vroom! This Japanese ad for the Ape Escape racer is awesome because it's so over-the-top. Too bad the game is nowhere as sleek-looking as this commercial. At least the Japanese can pick up a free toy with the game, it appears. (Don't forget to try out the downloadable demo for yourself!)Finally, to end our daily series of sandwiches, we have one very... special boy that knows how to handle a situation... in a special way. Anger management isn't a bad thing, kid. Unless it's that really awful Adam Sandler movie from way back when.
Video Sandwich: October 25, 2006
Ah, commercials for the PSP. America seems to have given up advertising Sony's handheld (while they get their act together), but the European division just keeps on making more and more. Some are sure to be hits, while others are not. Here are two samples from the European waters: what do you think about them? Do they seem too random, or are they super-cool and edgy?
Video Sandwich: October 24, 2006
The PSP can be a lot of things. It can take pictures, for example. Sony Japan's newest ad shows off the upcoming PSP camera and all the fun things you can do to harass Japanese businessmen. Awesome~! I hope once the device comes to the States, all members of the press start carrying this peripheral around: photos like these will make the news so much more interesting, because everything's at least 30% funnier when a giant afro is transplanted on top of someone's head!But once you've taken such classy photos, you'll want to show them off... with style. An enthusiastic fan has crafted an elaborate, elegant wooden frame for his PSP. Just drop the PSP in and let it display your photos. It'll look a whole lot cooler than a traditional photo frame, and it'll kill a lot less trees. And we love trees, don't we?
All the 360 commercials ever
Major Nelson has posted a list of Xbox 360 commercials that is apparently circulating in Microsoft's office mail. Most of these are pretty entertaining (such as the one above), and some are downright bizarre. We've politely lifted the list from Major Nelson and posted it after the break (along with a few more). And just to save you an extra step, we've embedded the ultra wacky Indian 360 ad as well.
Video Sandwich: October 17, 2006
It's been a while. It's time for another Video Sandwich. We love looking at PSP ads here, and I would have to say that this "viral" ad is pretty effective. It tells you that you can play your PSP anywhere, any place... but would the PSP function in a low-grav, no-oxygen environment? Something tells me no. MISLEADING AD!!! (Okay, maybe it's just puffery.)Below, you'll see a fan-made parody of one of the earliest PSP ads: you know, the ones where they threw them around, from friend to friend. I was always horrified by that ad, just because I asked: what would you do if you dropped it??? That's $250 down the drain! Well, thankfully, these kids find out so you don't have to.
Latest sign of the apocalypse: ad-spewing hand dryers
Ah, so now we know why other hand dryer manufacturers have not yet moved over to the high-speed Airblade / JetTowel model: they've been biding their time until we're totally accustomed to those interminable drying sessions, all the while planning to subject us to advertisements while we stand there helplessly with our hands dripping. Well played.[Via The Raw Feed]
Engadget commercial contest winners!
We know you've all been waiting patiently to find out the winners of the Engadget commercial contest, and to whom the spoils (that Sony Vaio VGN-AR190G Blu-ray laptop, MSRP $3,400) went. We received nearly 100 commercials, which totally blew our mind, but today is all about the winner of the contest, as well as eight runners up we selected after a few grueling sessions. All these commercials were so good that we had to give a new iPod shuffle to the other eight who didn't take home the laptop. To everyone else who entered, thanks so much for your submissions! We'll be airing more commercials very soon, but for now click on for the top nine!
