It's off topic, but when I saw "Exhibit B" in the OP, all I could think is "that's still a better ad than Nintendo's coked-up Play It Loud ads (from the latter days of the SNES)".
One went something like "Stunt Race FX lets you pick from 24 tracks, while the only thing the other guy's game (pretty obviously Virtua Racing) lets you pick is your nose.", and some random TV ad showing off a bunch of grunge teens, some occasional and very momentary game footage (from Acclaim games, of all things), and text like "Give the World a Wedgie". Especially considering online console gaming was practically non-existent at the time, WTF does that mean?