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Nintendo has released some rather unusual commercials in its time, but there's perhaps none stranger than one of the original Legend of Zelda ads, which stars a comedian in a dark cell, screaming out the name of the titular princess and many of the enemies in Link's path.
The ad itself stars American actor and comedian John Kassir, and according to Nintendo's former advertising manager and vice president of brand management, Gail Tilden, the final version wasn't exactly what the company had in mind, like, at all. Speaking at a panel at the Long Island Retro Gaming Expo (via the Video Game History Foundation, and spotted by Time Extension), she reveals that she initially thought "I can't go through [with] this" when faced with the reality of filming the ad.
"When the agency pitched that there would be a stand-up comedian doing something about all the fun things in this game we all said yes," she explains. "So then I go to this shoot in Los Angeles, and it's this crazy guy in a padded cell, and I'm like, 'This, I can't go through [with] this, because this is not what we agreed to. This is not what we were expecting. We thought [it would be] a guy standing at a mic in a spotlight.'"
After some calls to the agency and the execs, the team was ultimately given the go-ahead, although Tilden ponders whether that's because "we were there already." The result is a truly baffling watch that doesn't capture the vibe of Zelda in the slightest.
The strange commercial shenanigans didn't end there though, because after that, another ad was filmed, this time featuring two teens loading up the game before spontaneously performing a rap that leads with the line, "it's the Legend of Zelda and it's really rad." It's definitely an improvement on the John Kassir screaming experience, but Tilden rather honestly sums up the situation noting that she thinks "neither of them [are] very appealing."
Be sure to check out our roundup of the best Zelda games, as well as the best Switch games you can play right now.
