Rapping, puppetry, and misogyny: Zelda commercials through the ages
This compilation of western and Japanese Zelda TV commercials is by no means comprehensive, but it does feature three or four that are new to us. Some are just downright peculiar -- the second Legend of Zelda advert recalls David Lynch's Eraserhead -- and there's clearly been an unsettling amount of rapping involved in the marketing of the series, something we hadn't noticed previously. The advert for Twilight Princess is utterly tame in comparison.
No doubt you'll have seen a couple of these about a gazillion times (the Ocarina of Time commercial from the days when Nintendo didn't think twice about calling you a weak little girl, and the fabulously dorky "Your parents help you hook it up!" ad from the late-'80s), but it's still worth a watch for the more obscure stuff, some of which even manages to out-weird Sony's recent output. And that's a heck of an achievement.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-05-2007 @ 3:20PM
student said...
how can they have zelda videos but not show this one?
http://www.funnyfreak.net/funny-videos/japan/video-Zelda-1/
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11-05-2007 @ 3:24PM
TVGenius said...
The "Your parents help you hook it up" line makes me laugh. Yeah, exactly whose parents know how to hook anything like that up anymore? Most of my family still can't comprehend RCA cables, let alone Component, HDMI, or Heaven Forbid, Optical Audio cables.
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11-05-2007 @ 4:45PM
Drahken said...
Eeee! I love the puppet ones! Reminds me of the Potter Puppet Pals.
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11-05-2007 @ 6:18PM
Zack W. said...
I was just about to post what "student" already did. That one is my favorite.
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11-05-2007 @ 6:44PM
Chintz said...
The Japanese ones are way better.
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11-05-2007 @ 6:47PM
Archibold said...
Wow, that Four Swords commercial is amazing. It's just so well done!
That Link's Awakening one, though. Not... so much.
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