After three different advertisements referencing women, it's about time we take a look at a commercial that is all about a man. Well, actually, this one is more about a boy. A boy who is not interested in being level with the people he's up against. I would say that's a good 180 degree turn from scantly clad women trying to save the world. But while the theme in this advert may be different, its over all badness appears to be the same.

Like a lot of these bad advertisements, this one fails from logic problems. At the very top the commercial says, "Let them see the scores, but don't let them see how you got 'em." The boy is holding the control behind his back, but the moment they start playing games together it's going to be painfully clear that he's using a heavy duty arcade joystick. And even if he doesn't move the control from his back, that cord is going to clue everybody in that he's hiding something. I suspect it's probably better to show people the control so that they don't think you were cheating. Prove to the world that you have nothing to hide.

Another problem I have is the final sentence. If you look closely you'll see that the end of the description is cut off because of the picture of the control. It says, "You can take on the toughest titles and the meanest opponents and keep smiling as you blow." As you blow? What exactly is Hori saying about the gamers that might want to buy this product? And really, this advert has about a thousand words talking about it, they couldn't figure out a way of letting them finish their thought? Perhaps shrink the kid; as a rule of thumb advertising would be better if they used less freckled kids. Not just the freckled ones, mind you, but ALL kids.

FROM: Talk Sex with Bad Advertising