Japanese gaming giant Nintendo Company Ltd., has this week stringently denied that a popular YouTube clip showing a young women exercising to Wii Fit in her underwear is part of a covert viral campaign designed to increase the game’s exposure.
Nintendo denies sexy Wii Fit girl is part of secret viral marketing drive. Image: YouTube.
The clip in question, which is called “Why every guy should buy their girlfriend Wii Fit,” shows 25-year-old Lauren Bernat vigorously working her hips to Wii Fit’s ‘Hula Hoop’ mini-game while wearing only a loose T-shirt and panties.
Since its appearance on Google’s massively popular video-sharing Web site, the posted clip has been viewed more than 2 million times.
Initial viral marketing rumours became attached to the clip after it was discovered that Bernat and her 30-year-old boyfriend Giovanny Gutierrez -- who captured and posted the clip on YouTube -- both work for Florida-based interactive media company Tinsley Advertising.
According to Gutierrez’s company profile on the official Tinsley Advertising site, he’s responsible for the creation of Web, e-mail and interactive marketing solutions for television, radio and print campaigns.
However, with Net chatter gathering pace regarding the couple’s potential involvement in a clever marketing action to increase consumer awareness around the Wii Fit exercise experience, Nintendo has been quick to distance itself.
“This has and is absolutely 100 percent nothing to do with Nintendo,” insisted a spokesman for the Kyoto-based company. “Nintendo did not create [the clip] and were not aware of it until it was brought it to our attention.”
And it’s not just Nintendo looking to dodge incoming accusations regarding the video clip, with Gutierrez himself having since added a post script to its title description outlining its innocence while also fishing for future employment with Nintendo.
“This is a personal video I made... I just work at Tinsley Advertising (not related to Nintendo whatsoever),” he explains. “However I’d love to do work for them.”
Gutierrez is also keen to point out that his girlfriend was oblivious to being filmed and was duly furious when the Internet furore burst up around the subsequent YouTube clip. Apparently her anger has since subsided and she is able to see the funny side of her brief encounter with online fame.
The Wii Fit experience offers up a wide variety of interactive exercises designed to boost fitness levels and get couch potato gamers up and moving. Its innovation and already-immense popularity lie in the utilisation of a special weight and motion-sensitive Balance Board that transfers the user’s efforts onto the screen and guides them toward better health.
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