Recent store christmas commercials

[YoshiM]

Have you noticed that some of those Target/Wal-Mart/etc. commercials that has someone playing a modern looking (or a model of the actual system) console and the sound coming out of it is from the VCS? I took notice yesterday during a Target commercial (in their funky cel-like red-o-vision) where the guy was on the floor playing and I recognized some of the sounds. "Was that the sound from Phoenix? Was that Pac-Man?" Sure there seem to be some made up sounds, but the others sounded so close to the originals.

Another commercial (while not Christmas related) was an SBC (I think it was SBC) Ameritech commercial where an African-American father and his two teen kids were sitting in front of the computer waiting to connect to their ISP. The son was obviously playing a Game Boy, but the sounds coming from it were pure VCS Pac-Man. As a side note, it seems the VCS Pac-Man sounds are used quite often in game related commercials.

Anyone else noticed this trend in advertisement? Or am I just more nuts than usual?

[Tempest]

That's been happening for years. I'm pretty sure they use those sounds because they're standards on the sound effect reels all commerical makers use. Pretty cool if you ask me, but then nobody ever asks me...

Tempest

[GENESISNES]

I hate it when they do that. they did it on a doritos 3D commercial, with a GBC, and there was no game in the cartrige slot!!! I HATE THAT!!! Couldn't they just chip in the extra 20 cents and get something like nsync gets to the show?

[Raedon]

these thirty something video producers think they are being clever by sneaking in 2600 Pacman sounds into commercials. It's obviously a running joke because I've heard 2600 pacman in no fewer then 3 commercials.

[Arcade Antics]

Matt's right, they've used these same sound bites forever.

The reason they still use them though, is that they're immediately identifiable as "videogame sounds."

That is, modern games are so advanced that from the sounds alone, you wouldn't know if the person in the commercial was playing a game or watching a movie, video, etc.

Or to put it another way, less is more. :grin:

[YoshiM]

The reason they still use them though, is that they're immediately identifiable as "videogame sounds."

That is, modern games are so advanced that from the sounds alone, you wouldn't know if the person in the commercial was playing a game or watching a movie, video, etc.

Or to put it another way, less is more. :grin:

You know, that never crossed my mind. Easily identified by a series of beeps and bonks, even though the only modern game system that does that is the GBA.

I'm sure these sounds have been used for ages, but I don't watch a whole lotta TV except for the weekly Boston Public/Enterprise mandatory viewing. I just happen to have the TV on while reading and heard the sounds...over and over again every 15 or so minutes as the station (TNN) played those commercials over and over.

::Off Topic a bit:: TNN must assume anyone you watches ST:TNG must play video games. While watching an episode, I was assaulted with Dr. Muto, Mortal Kombat, and some game called "Haven" (I think, PS2 game about a dude with some sort of magical wrist device). I should know the Haven name, they played that commercial, followed by MK, Dr.Muto, and then the Haven commercial AGAIN before Star Trek started up again. They only showed commercials for Shinobi and Rygar once each, if I'm not mistaken.