As Seen On TV: Some of the Best Video Game Commercials

The new Xbox 360 commercials are dumb. Sure, there’s lots of eye candy and pretty music, but just think about the commercial for a second: they show some people watching an Xbox 360 in motion and enjoying, only to later find out that the 360 has EATEN THEIR BRAIN, hollowing out their skulls and replacing the insides with colorful images beamed in by some ungodly TV technology. Last time I checked, moms and politicians everywhere are still arguing that video games rot our brains, so I can’t say this ad speaks in the gamer’s favor. Furthermore, let’s pray that HDTV (Head Destroying TV?) isn’t some secret government plot to erase our minds.

But I digress; the point is, it can be hard to get your point across in a 30-60 second commercial, and most of these attempts end up being failures (that laughing baby doll from the first PS3 commercial still gives me the creeps). Yet over the course of the medium’s few decades of existence, there have been a few successful ad campaigns that have, at the very least, given us half a minute of pure enjoyment. Here are a few that have stayed in my mind throughout the years:

• Halo 3 “Believe in a Hero”

Probably my favorite game commercial of all time, which almost made me buy the game even before I owned a 360. The music and cinematography set a tone for Halo 3 that is unmatched by most blockbuster movies. Furthermore, the attention to detail on the models is staggering—this commercial was obviously a labor of love from those involved. I like me some Halo as it is, sure, but I would do anything for Bungie’s next game to achieve this type of atmosphere.

• Super Smash Bros. - “Happy Together”

I don’t think anyone really understood how cool it would be to smash Donkey Kong in the face with a hammer until this commercial stormed onto the scene. The use of real people in furry costumes adds an extra layer of absurdity to the following scuffle, and the glee of seeing that goody-goody Mario take down Yoshi can’t be understated.

• Final Fantasy VII - “They Were Right”

Not all games have to be big as long as they make you think that they’re epic. While the greatness of FFVII will be debated forever, it’s hard to argue that this commercial didn’t make you feel that this was one of the most important games ever. To top it all off, the commercial tapped into the desires of all gamers: to see something that can’t be accomplished in any other medium.

• BioShock - “Beyond the Sea”

A small taste of the mindf#@k that BioShock would offer gamers, this commercial is surprisingly accurate to the source by showing virtually every gameplay and atmosphere hook the game offered: gunplay, plasmids, creepy enemies, and the pseudo-1950’s atmosphere are all packed into the ad. Extra points are also awarded for having extreme violence without any bloodshed—I’ll take all of my commercials with 100% more shooting-people-in-the-face, please.

• Pikmin 2 - “Hotdog!”

Nintendo has a reputation for crafting weird-yet-funny commercials, but this one continues to be my favorite. Perhaps the prospect of having my own army of midget servants in leotards is just too hard to ignore. Or maybe it’s the pitch-perfect Pikmin sway they perform just before snatching the hotdog. Either way, at least people watched the commercial (burn, Pikmin 2’s sale numbers).

• Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance - “Office Espionage”

Everyone wants to be an action hero like Solid Snake, and this commercial taps into that desire with great results. I also liked the little detail that Johnson’s boss overreacts at least 50% less than any of the bosses from the Metal Gear series. Comedy with an exclamation point.

• Gears of War - “Mad World”

Any trailer that makes Gears of War look artsy is immediately commendable on that merit alone. As fun as GoW is, this commercial nails the sense of hopelessness that simply wasn’t present in the game, so maybe this trailer should be seen as the COG orientation video. Also, congrats to “Mad World” singer/songwriter Gary Jules, as his music sold like gangbusters after this commercial hit.

• Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction - “What a Wonderful World”

After seeing this commercial, the only thing I could think to say was “Damn, that looks fun.” The music and character animations were funny without being annoying, a major accomplishment with modern commercials, and the sheer amount of things going on matches some of the more chaotic scenes in a Jason Bourne film… except with furry cartoon characters and robots. Another one of those got-to-have-this-game commercials.

• Mirror’s Edge - “They Missed A Spot”

I have not been able to get the music from this commercial out of my head. Much like the Halo 3 commercial above, this ad is all about atmosphere, and this one nails the themes ofMirror’s Edge: gleeful rebellion from the norm. One of those few commercials that I don’t mind playing twice every commercial break.

• Nintendo Wii - “Wii Would Like to Play”

This is the commercial that started the popularity of the Wii. Suddenly the name (kind of) made sense: Nintendo was trying to unite us all with gaming (and driving smart cars). And there’s something about Japanese men selling Wii’s door-to-door that continues to amuse me. Should we consider the Wii the vacuum cleaner of today’s consoles? Well, everyone seems to have both of them, so maybe so…

Hopefully game advertisers will make more trailers like these in the future; I’m not in the mood to see more crying, laughing, drug-abusing babies promoting a system. But of course, there’s sure to be a few winners I looked over, so what are some of your favorite examples of 30-second system sellers?