DSappointing

Firstly, sorry for the bad pun in the title. The late great Richard Whiteley himself would've been proud of it, I'm sure, and therefore it's certainly good enough for this post.

Secondly, I love my Nintendo DS. It's amazing, I take it on most non-public transport journeys, and I spend a good portion of my spare time playing the games on it, and I rarely go to the bathroom without it. I may have given too much information there.

What I want to make clear is that I love the Nintendo DS, and I love Nintendo. I also, generally, love their advertising. I think the for most part it has been very well targeted, simple, but effective. One only has to look at how well the Wii has been outselling the PS3 (which is technically a far superior console) and can see that clearly the clever marketing has played a big role in it. Both the advertising for the Wii and the DS is well integrated across all media platforms, and exudes the message of simplicity and fun for all ages and families.

The new adverts for the DS on the Tube, however, fall short of the mark. The adverts in question show a happy commuter playing the DS next to a selection of games with one highlighted in the middle. Below the games is a piece of copy relating to the game in question. The copy suggests that we spend 3 years of our lives commuting and, naturally, why not buy a DS and spend this time doing something more fun and productive than the crossword. Other than a single line specific to individual games, this copy reads the same for all of the adverts.

My gripe with these adverts is that they are really badly targeted, in my opinion. They are trying to make the DS a must for every commuter, and create a mini-network of people all sat on the train playing games together via Wi-Fi. Seems reasonable enough, but there are several flaws in this plan.

For instance, some of the games they are advertising require you to speak to your DS - Brain Training and Nintendogs both use voice recognition. Whilst these do not strictly have to be used, they are reasonably important parts of the games, and a feature that could not be used on the Tube, certainly not by the stuffy, British public. We are a nation of awkward, socially inept people and we do not speak on public transport. We don't even speak to each other (even our friends!), the very prospect of a British commuter speaking to a computer game in front of fellow travellers is almost frightening.

Another thing is that some of these adverts push the Wi-Fi capabilities of the DS, both for local play with other people nearby and online play. Local play could effectively work on the Tube, but it is INCREDIBLY unlikely that you would ever get to play with other commuters: they would have to be near (quite possibly in the same carriage), playing the same game at the same time as you, and both of you would almost certainly need a seat (a further gripe - you simply could not play the DS standing up on the Tube, in rush hour OR when it's calm). Playing on the internet would definitely not work underground. Most people's mobile phones don't work on the Tube, let alone wireless internet. To advertise this feature to commuters as something they could do on the underground is just cruel.

Also, these adverts are simply naff. The captions include variations along the lines of "Things fall into place on the Circle Line" and "Figure it out on the way to Notting Hill". It is a blatant attempt at trying to connect with the consumer, but failing miserably. It's almost as if someone in a boardroom somewhere said "Hey, if they see it says the Circle line they'll think 'wow! I use the Circle line too, I should get a DS' and BAM, there's a sale right there".

Finally, Nintendo's media buyers have gone absolutely all out with this campaign, and whole carriages are plastered with the adverts, with no other adverts in sight. All this really does is highlight how similar the adverts are to each other, and how little thought has actually gone into them. It's almost like a gallery of how not to advertise.

Lastly (I know that's the same as 'finally' and not technically the last paragraph was a lie, but feh, this is my blog) I have never seen anyone on the Tube with a Nintendo DS, and everyone I know who owns one (myself included) would never whip out their DS and play it on the Underground for fear of it being stolen. I honestly can never see people changing their stance on this and creating the happy network of travellers that Nintendo envisage, all playing together, all having fun. The only way I see the DS becoming commonplace on the Tube is when the next generation of handheld consoles comes out and the DS is no longer a desirable device. Of course when this situation does arise we'll be far too busy reading the adverts for this new console to play on the good old DS.