Wii U TV campaign is go

The first mass market Wii U TV ad went live this week – as part of a campaign as big as the first Wii’s launch.

The ads started appearing yesterday (October 17th) after the successful debut of the sampling tour last month, with a 60-second ad airing during Saturday’s X Factor.

Nintendo UK marketing and PR director Shelly Pearce told MCV: We are starting early to raise awareness, and are spending the same as we did on that first Wii launch.”

A lot of focus will be on telling the millions of existing UK Wii owners that the console is on the way, while also communicating the device’s next generation cred.

We know there is a demand out there for a new console format. And this is a new generation of console. Maybe at E3 2011 we didn’t make that clear enough – it really is a new box as well as that innovative controller, it offers many different things.

We’re making sure to communicate that angle in the marketing, and the campaign will seem fresh and slightly different. Although there are clear elements that say ‘this is from the people behind Wii’ to maintain some continuity.

We have the biggest line-up of any Nintendo console yet. We are getting great feedback from the press from our most recent hands-on event.”

The Wii U launch plan also includes 103 days of outdoor campaigning, plus social media elements and community parties.