Leagas Delaney has taken the multi-million pound pan-European
advertising account for Nintendo in a final pitch against three German
agencies.
The pitches took place at Nintendo Europe’s headquarters in Frankfurt
between Leagas Delaney and the German offices of Young & Rubicam, BBDO
and Leo Burnett.
Leagas Delaney’s task will be to create an umbrella brand-building
cinema campaign to run in ten markets across Europe this autumn. The
campaign will target older teenagers and aims to give the brand a
distinctive personality to help it compete against Sony Playstation.
Rudolph Werner, Nintendo Europe’s advertising and PR manager, said:
’This is a very special assignment, the first of its kind we have
conducted.’
Tim Delaney, Leagas Delaney’s executive creative director, said: ’It’s a
terrific brand name operating in a very competitive market.’
Individual countries will continue to develop tactical campaigns using
their own advertising agencies. In the UK, advertising is controlled by
the distributor, THE, which scrapped its search for an agency in
July.
Werner said: ’We do not have any say over what happens in the UK. But
Leagas Delaney made such a good presentation and was very
convincing.’
The last advertising for Nintendo in the UK was created by Leo
Burnett.
Its first creative work for the Gameboy attracted complaints to the
Advertising Standards Authority following its depiction of a woman tied
to a bed.
The two sides parted company in August 1997 citing differences over
future creative direction. In the crucial pre-Christmas period, Nintendo
imported ads from Burnetts in the US.
Nintendo’s N64 console launched in February 1997 after a series of
delays.
But sales were hampered by product shortages and the N64 has not
achieved Playstation’s success, which was backed by a spend of around
pounds 9 million last year through the then TBWA Simons Palmer.
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