Critique On the Zelda Ad

    It’s no secret that video games influence consumers by powerful and moving ads. Every year the impact of games increases and gains it’s way into more and more homes. With the impending release of the Playstation 2 rival companies must catch the eye of Gamers everywhere with their inspired game design. The ad that encompasses doom, hope, courage, envy, pain, urgency and skillfulness is none other than Nintendo’s own Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. The name “Zelda” is unanimously recognizable among the video gaming community and therefore needs little introduction when being brought to the market. Zelda also stands for quality, as it’s one of the few games that can consistently bring epic standards to the industry. What some people may not realize is that the new Zelda game is being released on the same day as the bloody behemoth, the Playstation 2. Nintendo must rely on the good name of “Zelda” to sell its game accordingly so that it ensures future net profits. The recent add for Majora’s Mask shows a gigantic moon only several hundred feet away from colliding into a populated urban city. The sky is red with doom and the quote on the side of the ad instills even more fear by stating, “The Only Thing Worse Than The Weight Of The World On Your Shoulders Is The Weight Of The Moon.” On the left margin of the ad there are dismal pictures from the game that represent even more torturous fantasies that reflect such atrocities.

            The obvious intended audience is young adults to adults. The ad proves it ability to present logos by swaying the viewer to believe that the world will in fact end if they do not try to save it. After the previously mentioned quote the add goes on to say, “72 Hours. 24 Masks. 1 Moon. The World Is Waiting On You.” Notice how Nintendo makes it clear that it is the player who is responsible for saving the planet and not Link’s, the protagonist of the game. By doing this people are influenced to believe that they can step into this fantasy world and go places not possible to perceive in real life. Moving on from that is what really drives this ad, which is the ethos. People would care less if a new game came out by a new unheard of company that screamed “me too” in all genres. By placing the large “N64” logo in the far left corner it immediately represents that an established professional company has given it’s seal of quality. Paralleling that is the “Zelda” logo at the top left of the page. As mentioned earlier this is a sign that tells consumers it’s a safe bet to purchase this product. Stemming from that is the ads one impending message for pathos. It clearly is gripping the reader’s emotion by telling him/her that all of humanity is at stake if the moon is not halted. It is fear and urgency that draws from pathos and it is just those aforementioned titles that actually drive the game itself so it would make sense to include them in the ad.

     ~Clay