Nintendo: Wii Didn’t Do It!
Game maker Nintendo could possibly be sitting on the biggest buzz marketing hit since Diet Coke met Mentos. But as of now, the company is denying that it’s Nintendo’s underwear-clad sitter we’re looking at.
One of the fastest-growing views on YouTube in the last few weeks has been a set of videos around “Why every guy should buy their girlfriend Wii Fit”, showing a woman using the Nintendo Wii Fit video game while being filmed by her boyfriend. The woman is clad in a T-shirt and underpants filmed in rear view by her boyfriend as she gyrates to the Wii hula-hoop video exercise.
For viewers who miss the guy’s take on this workout—the video title is pretty subtle—he includes a shot of himself with his tongue lolling out like a cartoon wolf.
The clip, posted to YouTube on May 25, has to date received just shy of 4 million views, earned ratings from 6,000 viewers that average 4.5 of 5 stars, and been favorited 6,500 times. It’s gotten 19 video responses, including one for the ladies and another entitled “Why NOT every guy should buy the Wii Fit for his girlfriend.”
The clip has also been the target of online speculation that Nintendo seeded it, although the company denies any involvement in making or promoting the video. The rumor mill cranked into high gear when it turned out that both the video maker and his hula’ing subject worked for a Miami ad agency.
To date, Nintendo has maintained that it had nothing to do with the video. Trouble is, that’s exactly what a marketer would say about a guerrilla campaign. The stand would give the brand deniability in re a video that combines product endorsement with prurient interest—a combination that could easily turn sour on a relatively unmoderated channel like YouTube.
And one of the related videos pulled up alongside the “girlfriend” clip: The Nintendo press conference footage announcing the Wii Fit. That can’t hurt product sales, although thank the YouTube algorithm for that benefit.
This way, by maintaining that the video was entirely outside their control, Nintendo can enjoy the buzz that comes from an unmotivated piece of consumer content that—let’s face it—even includes a call to action in the title.
Related Topics: Buzz Marketing, Promo Trends, Online Video, User-Generated Content
