wii
Wii Fit's Times Square Ads Need Better Placement
Posted by Luke Plunkett at 6:30 PM on May 12, 2008
When Reggie said Nintendo would be spending the big bucks on promoting Wii Fit to the great unwashed, he wasn't fuckin' around. Go Nintendo reader Charles just snapped this pic while strolling nonchalantly around Times Square, and I must say, that's pretty darned eye-catching. It'd really make me want to hit the Balance Board and burn some calories, were it not for the fact it's sitting, well, right on top of a Chevy's. Sorry, Nintendo, but no way is exercise beating out tacos.
Wii Fit takes over Times Square [Go Nintendo]

Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Luke Plunkett
Posted 7:17 PM 12/5/08
@Xayzer: They are like mana from the Mexican gods. Especially the soft ones.
Luke Plunkett
photoboy
Posted 7:16 PM 12/5/08
@icepick314: I thought it was a shot from GTAIV when I saw those giant burgers at first!
photoboy
ca$h
Posted 7:16 PM 12/5/08
That McDonald's ad looks like something out of GTA4.
ca$h
Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.
Posted 7:15 PM 12/5/08
It envokes the terror of the Rubiks Cube as far as i'm concerned
Gantz: Your Trusted Friend in Science.
furiku
Posted 7:11 PM 12/5/08
That is great advertising! If Nintendo did there homework here, and I imagine they had, that's probably one of the best places to advertise such a product (right beside the fast food stuff).
@Velops: I think it's a pretty good colour choice. Red would be too dangerous, blue too cold and green is a bit more clinical, is usually associated with health (at least here in the UK).
furiku
Calzonage
Posted 7:07 PM 12/5/08
@Renay: Awesome! Time for some authentic NY Pizza. Mama mia.
Calzonage
ShaggE
Posted 7:05 PM 12/5/08
@Xayzer: They are like edible deities. To eat a taco is to be one with all that is, was, and ever will be. The taco transcends mere food; it is a testament to all things good in this world.
They're pretty tasty, too.
ShaggE
Velops
Posted 6:57 PM 12/5/08
Mmmm... that's good irony.
It is interesting how Nintendo used green to brand WiiFit since Microsoft has tried to link green with the Xbox brand.
Velops
karasu is my homeboy
Posted 6:56 PM 12/5/08
It's kinda comical, but it's no real issue what so ever.
Awesome ad in an awesome spot (Times Square) where you really need to find a way to stick out.
karasu is my homeboy
Xayzer
Posted 6:52 PM 12/5/08
I've never had a taco. Are they any good ?
Xayzer
Renay
Posted 6:42 PM 12/5/08
HEY! A villa pizza!
Renay
Witzbold
Posted 6:39 PM 12/5/08
brilliant!
Witzbold
icepick314
Posted 6:35 PM 12/5/08
i don't know what Chevy's is but i could go for some burgers on the top right...
icepick314
doobymoo
Posted 7:49 PM 12/5/08
Seems pretty calculated to me.. 'Once you guyses are done stuffing your faces with food, go home and work it off with Wii Fit!'
doobymoo
ca$h
Posted 7:42 PM 12/5/08
@Xayzer:You must get one. Now.
I don't wanna live in the same world were people go taco-less. I just don't.
@Luke Plunkett: No way, crunchy is the ONLY way to go! :)
ca$h
ShaggE
Posted 8:31 PM 12/5/08
@Xayzer: Just nab some tortillas, beef, shredded cheese, onion, tomato, lettuce, avocados, refried beans, and the hottest hot sauce you can handle.
ShaggE
Xayzer
Posted 8:20 PM 12/5/08
@ShaggE, Luke Plunkett and ca$h:
Wow, ok so they are good and I need to try them. Now the only question is how to do so in a country with a serious
deficiency of tacos? Maybe I should try making some myself. Is there any special ingredient that causes the violent diarrhea I've been hearing tacos to inflict? Because I always strive to get the full exerience.
Xayzer
Onizuka-GTO
Posted 9:03 PM 12/5/08
OKAY.
Stop with the food talk. I dunno what's a chevy, I dunno what's a Taco, all i know is i'm craving food right now and I Still got another hour until lunch break,
you all making me suffer here. D:
Onizuka-GTO
Alex_Mexico
Posted 8:52 PM 12/5/08
@Xayzer:
OH
MY
GOD
never EVER?????? dude, you've got to try some soonish! but please try some authentic mexican tacos... stay 50 meters away from anything that resembles a "Taco Bell" at all times for your own good (and real mexican tradition's).
Alex_Mexico
Velops
Posted 8:43 PM 12/5/08
@Xayzer: It is all about using fresh ingredients that are properly cooked. Fast food chains like Taco Bell use the lowest quality ingredients with unskilled labor to increase profit margins. This usually results in food poisoning unless you have a cast iron stomach.
Velops
badasscat
Posted 8:42 PM 12/5/08
I try to avoid Times Square at all costs (I work a couple blocks above it), but if I'm not mistaken, this is not actually Times Square. This is 42nd St. and 8th Ave, which is across the street from the Port Authority bus terminal. Still a pretty heavily trafficked area, but not technically in Times Square.
badasscat
ZombiePuppy
Posted 9:25 PM 12/5/08
Jesus Christ, that's a lot of lights and colors!
I thought Rio de Janeiro was messy!
ZombiePuppy
Alex_Mexico
Posted 9:21 PM 12/5/08
@ca$h:
i seriously chuckled at your comment.
Happy hunting, amigo :)
Im happy as it is when I know I could educate someone to not go to a Taco Bell... or at least dont go there and think that's authentic. Lol, they name something wrapped in a cold "waffle" that resembles a tortilla... fill it up with beef and rice (yes RICE!?) and call it "Chalupa" and they think its mexican! By the Gods!!!!!! XD
Alex_Mexico
Alex_Mexico
Posted 9:16 PM 12/5/08
@Onizuka-GTO:
[img261.imageshack.us]
Theres a pic for you. You must know what a taco is at least :)
Its basically a corn (sometimes flour) tortilla filled with different kinds of beef/beans/hot sauce/etc. Someday try 'em, you wont regret it as long as you choose a sauce you can handle.
Alex_Mexico
ca$h
Posted 9:08 PM 12/5/08
@Alex_Mexico:
Man, all this taco-talk is making me crazy for some Mexican food. It's only seven in morning. The dudes at Dos Amigos are gonna be freaked out when they come to work and find me camped out in front of the restaurant.
ca$h
Xayzer
Posted 9:51 PM 12/5/08
Cr*p, how did I mess up the reply thingy? That's what happens when I start thinking about food.
Xayzer
Xayzer
Posted 9:49 PM 12/5/08
@ShaggE: @
Thanks, that sounds nice. And yummy.
href="#c5643336">Alex_Mexico:
Nope never. I couldn't visit a Taco Bell even if I wanted to, since there are none in my country (and from what I've been hearing that seems to be a good thing).
Xayzer
mjpm
Posted 9:34 PM 12/5/08
"Our Burgers Can Beat Up Your Burgers".
Yes, that makes me both wanna eat a burger and look at the billboard as lame and decide to buy WiiFit instead.
WiiFit is awesome though, even though the people trying it at my job (at a demo from Nintendo) sucked so hard.
mjpm
VoodooHack
Posted 11:04 PM 12/5/08
No way around it really. Times Square if chock full of restaurants. No matter where they would have put it, there was bound to be some type of eatery adjacent to it.
VoodooHack
y2julio
Posted 11:26 PM 12/5/08
@furiku: chevys is not a fast food place.
y2julio
El_Timba
Posted 11:22 PM 12/5/08
Screw the tacos, the chimichangas are where it's at!
El_Timba
Beatboxtaun
Posted 11:19 PM 12/5/08
True, but hopefully it'll make you think twice about what you eat. Or maybe not. Hamburgers and pizza are great!
Beatboxtaun
Kanik
Posted 11:12 PM 12/5/08
The bus I take to Jersey loads people up right there. I was waiting for the bus to fill up last friday and was just staring at the ad. I love how the video to the right is just a shot of a woman's hips moving, "how will it move you?" Creepy.
Kanik
ShaggE
Posted 11:47 PM 12/5/08
@Alex_Mexico: And what's wrong with Taco Bell? :p
I actually love their food, even though it's completely different from the authentic stuff. I don't get why everyone hates it. *confuzzled*
ShaggE
2NinjasTapedTogether
Posted 11:35 PM 12/5/08
Sorry Wii Fit... Homemade tortillas that you can watch being made are about... sixteen million... nay, seventeen million times better than your non-game.
Being Fit is not my idea of fun. Scarfing down plates upon plates of burritos, chimis, and refried beans is. As long as there is plenty of hot sauce.
Just asking... How much hot sauce does Wii Fit come with? Oh that's right. None. Fuck you Nintendo. Until you make games with Frank's Red Hot either packed in, or heavily advertised in game, I refuse to buy any more games.
In fact, Frank's Red Hot Sauce Bottle should be the first downloadable character for Smash Bros Brawl. I command it.
Seriously, I do command it.
2NinjasTapedTogether
chinesedentist
Posted 12:43 AM 13/5/08
I have to admit, this is very astute placement of their advertising. Fast food depends on impulse. Consumers go for what's easiest, though they often feel guilty about it.
The Fitness industry then capitalizes on that guilt by selling them what appears to be an easy solution.
The same reason you see Bowflex infomercials on at 3 in the morning is the same reason why Wii Fit will succeed, regardless of whether or not it works.
So seeing this ad and its placement is the equivalent of saying "problem, meet solution."
chinesedentist
skrame ☆
Posted 12:25 AM 13/5/08
Chevy's has good margaritas. They are as big as my head.
skrame ☆
KM91
Posted 12:23 AM 13/5/08
Right next to a hamburger ad. Wii Fit or big giant burger? The fact that it's almost lunchtime is not helping right now.
KM91
RhymePhile
Posted 1:07 AM 13/5/08
@badasscat:
I know what you mean. When you need to get somewhere in Manhattan, avoid Times Square at all costs. It's like a slow-moving human conveyor belt.
And you're right. This isn't Times Square. You need to walk another block up. I get to look at this every day from the window of my bus on the way home to Jersey. Heh, and before this ad was one for the WWE.
RhymePhile
chinesedentist
Posted 2:00 AM 13/5/08
@TheSilence: Anyone who eats a Pizza place in New York because they have that same Pizza place in their mall back home is probably lost anyway.
chinesedentist
Earthslide
Posted 1:55 AM 13/5/08
"Sorry, Nintendo, but no way is exercise beating out tacos." - worst.quote.ever :)
Earthslide
TheSilence
Posted 1:48 AM 13/5/08
@badasscat:
You're right. It's not Times Square it's the Port Authority. Probably will hit more people this way though, seeing as most NYers avoid Times Square and most of New Jersey commutes from the Port Authority.
And for those in the know, you don't eat at Villa Pizza. The local joints are the best place to get pizza in NY. And to start another fight, Brooklyn has consistently better pizza joints than Manhattan. Having lived in both, I think I can argue that point :)
TheSilence
Revolutionary
Posted 2:10 AM 13/5/08
@TheSilence: BROOKLYNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!
Sorry, I had to. lol
Revolutionary
Americo
Posted 2:38 AM 13/5/08
Imagine the electric bill on that thing.
Americo
Orionsaint
Posted 3:04 AM 13/5/08
The coolest part is it doubles for a Rubix Cube ad as well.
[img524.imageshack.us]
Orionsaint
karasu is my homeboy
Posted 2:57 AM 13/5/08
@Americo: It's probably pennies compared to the amount of money it costs to rent adspace in Times Square.
karasu is my homeboy
deathly
Posted 4:45 AM 13/5/08
Sweet, I took that pic with my iPhone, the cubes in the center are actually videos showing healthy looking models bouncing around. If only they would have advertised Metroid Prime 3 so heavily!
Also, nah it isn't Libery City, but truthfully walking around the real New York is pretty surreal these days when you used to playing GTA, no one yells "fuck you!" at you for no reason, or tries to take a swing at you.
deathly
note42
Posted 4:40 AM 13/5/08
Does Chevy's come with "guacamolito" sauce? I think not! Taco Town >>> Chevy's.
note42
Vone
Posted 5:00 AM 13/5/08
@deathly:
I dont know what part of New York YOU'RE walking through
Vone
deathly
Posted 6:02 AM 13/5/08
@ Vone: the post-Giuliani police-state New York full of rich yuppies and a Starbucks or two on every corner. :(
deathly
Xcite79
Posted 7:38 AM 13/5/08
great advertising can easily suck people in those terrible things. Not that the Wii Fit will suck but I sure as hell don't have intent on buying a item like that when it can go toward "actual" video games to play FOR fun.
Xcite79
EnigmaNemesis
Posted 7:45 AM 13/5/08
So, whats up with Nintendo using the Xbox green?
EnigmaNemesis
Evil Tortie's Mom
Posted 9:41 AM 13/5/08
Great. Now I gotta go to Chevy's and watch tortillas come out of La Machine.
Crunchy tacos > soft tacos.
But enchiladas and tamales also rule.
Maybe I'll just pop over to the local taco truck and get one of everything.
Evil Tortie's Mom
WestSiide
Posted 10:53 AM 13/5/08
NINTENDO is such a fucking joke. People talked shit about the PS3 being more than just a game machine, what about Nintendo taking it to the next level trying to be a fucking workout machine. A GAME CONSOLE... TO WORKOUT??!! People are such fucking retards if they buy this. I guess its cool to hate on Sony and love any gimmicky bullshit that Nintendo comes up with.
WestSiide
Alex_Mexico
Posted 11:37 AM 13/5/08
^^
um, I think we could use some Ban Hammer mondays again....
Alex_Mexico
thereallawrence
Posted 12:15 PM 13/5/08
Also, similar ads are on top of cabs all over the city. Anyone got an image of these? They look kind of relaxing.
thereallawrence
crazyorloco
Posted 2:23 PM 13/5/08
Awesome placement to me lol Funny.
crazyorloco
Rbastid
Posted 12:26 AM 14/5/08
Yeah most of the times when you say "Times Square Ad" you tend to want to be in Times Square, not down the block.
I'll have to take a look during my lunch and see if you can see if from Times Square.
Rbastid
The Great Aussie Evil
Posted 1:32 AM 14/5/08
Hollywood Squares invade NY.
The Great Aussie Evil