Comedy is hard. The rub is that most comedians make it look easy, which is why it's so frustrating when you fall on your face trying. Comedy takes skills and practice, and most people aren't consistent enough to pull it off. I have to assume that's what is going on in this painful Hagane advertisement. Somebody in Hudson's ad department must have gone to the Laugh Factory or Giggle Barn and wanted to take a crack at it. The saying "don't quit your day job" has never been more appropriate. This advertisement tries very hard to make you laugh, but all it does is make me feel bad for a company who failed to drum up interest in what sounds like a genuinely fun game.

Hagane is said to be the most brutal cartridge in all the land, so obviously Hudson decided to hire the cast from Perfect Strangers to lay down the multilingual funny. "Our prayers have been answered," says Balki. "Hagane has come to save the day!" Cousin Larry agrees, "Oh yes, my brother ... The Koma Clan is no match for Hagane's masterful Ninja technique and spectacular cyborg form." Cue the canned laughter and you have the perfect sitcom to add to CBS's Monday night line-up.

Except, that wasn't actually funny. The set-up looks like it's supposed to be humorous, what with the goofy looks, translated text and the "Contains No MSG" sticker stuck to Balki. But no, instead it's just a couple of guys saying something generic about whatever Hagane is. The only thing I get out of this advert is that the game is about revenge and stars a cyborg ninja ... or something like that. Either way, what could have been a memorable commercial is ruined by unneeded gimmicks that only distract from the otherwise awesome looking game.


FROM: I Didn't Know I Was Bad Advertising