?Touching is Good? Campaign Goes Too Far
Company: Nintendo Product: Nintendo DS
An overeager lion re-scripted a new commercial for Nintendo DS. The lion jumped into a tree with ?Wildboyz? star Steve-O, playfully pawing at his body and gnawing on his safari hat. Both the lioness and Steve-O emerged unscathed. The commercial, starring Steve-O and Chris Pontius, and directed by Jeff Tremaine of the popular MTV show ?Wildboyz,? highlights the unique features of Nintendo DS. In the spot, Pontius rides an elephant while using the touch screen of Nintendo DS to play a wireless multiplayer game with Steve-O, who has been treed by a trio of lions.
During the shoot, one female adult sprung into the tree and onto a branch with Steve-O. The lioness, possibly inspired by the ?Touching is Good? slogan for Nintendo DS, wrapped its paws around Steve-O, and nibbled at his hat. Steve-O remained calm, repeating ?good kitty? over and over, but never once dropped his Nintendo DS.
The lioness? improvised move remains in the final cut of the commercial, which can be seen starting October 28, 2004, on MTV networks as part of Nintendo?s $40 million marketing campaign to launch Nintendo DS. A behind-the-scenes look at the filming of the commercial can be seen exclusively at Nintendo.com, where the Wildboyz say that the encounter with the lion was the wildest adventure they?ve ever had.
-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann
Related Links: More on Nintendo DS ?Wildboyz: The Complete First Season? on DVD
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