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Leo Burnett is continuing its humorous creative theme for Nintendo

with the launch of a pan-European campaign for Mario Kart: Super

Circuit.

Following its campaign to launch the Game Boy Advance console, the

agency has unveiled a series of four TV spots to profile the new game

that will be rolled out across Europe - starting in the UK on 7

September.

The four 20-second ads feature four elderly people playing Mario Kart:

Super Circuit against each other on linked Game Boy Advance

consoles.

Each execution aims to show the skulduggery and ugly tactics employed

when four players compete. Each spot ends with the strapline: "Four

players. No rules."

One spot shows four pensioners battling it out on the deck of a cruise

ship. A deck hand in the background throws the ship's anchor overboard

and as the rope speeds past the players' feet, one surreptitiously slips

a loop over a rival's toes. The elderly player is then dragged over the

side mid-game.

Another ad sees the same foursome in the park playing their

consoles.

This time one competitor ruthlessly releases the break on his

companion's wheelchair, seeing the player roll backwards and out of the

game. The man continues to slide down a hill and gets hit by a van.

Franco De-Cesare, the head of marketing for Nintendo Europe, said:

"Unlike most racing games, Mario Kart: Super Circuit is not just about

getting to the finish line first, it's about ensuring that your

opponents don't make it. The notion of sabotage is at the heart of the

campaign."

The TV work will be combined with a widespread press and outdoor

campaign.

The campaign was written by Jack Stephens and Adam Griffin and art

directed by Rob Neilson and Rob Spicer. Derek Horn directed through

Avion Films Productions in Toronto, while Kelvin Murray shot the print

work. Media is handled by Starcom Motive.