In every episode of Commercial Break I claim to have found the absolute worst video game advertisement around. So while this is no doubt old (and I've lost all credibility), I might as well just go ahead and say that this has to be the worst commercial we've seen yet. Who cares if I say that every episode, when it comes to this Sears commercial I really mean it. This advertisement fails on so many levels that it's embarrassing. Oh sure, it may feature Super Mario and a good price on a Nintendo Entertainment System Action Set, but don't let them fool you, this is as bad as it comes. I recommend you hold your nose, because ladies and gentlemen what you're about to see is going to make you gag.

This commercial poses an important question: Should you buy your games and systems at a dedicated game store, or go with a name-brand department store. Sears really hopes that you choose a department store, and this advertisement is here to show you that they're hip to the gaming scene. Too bad they failed to hire somebody who actually knew what they were doing, because this commercial is littered with errors. The most egregious mistake happened when they decide to put pictures and names together. Take a close look at the screen shots on the left side, notice anything odd? Pay special attention to the fact that only one of the four games is labeled correctly. Castlevania II is labeled as Zelda II, the first Super Mario Bros. is labeled as Super Mario Bros. 2, and Zelda II is given the Simon's Quest tag. The only one to get it right is Blades of Steel, no doubt because the people at Sears knows what hockey looks like.

And then there's that picture of Mario. Actually, the picture of Mario is fine (taken from Nintendo's official artwork), it's the monsters chasing him that confuse me. Is that dinosaur, turtle-thing supposed to be Bowser? And why do those turtles look so much like Turkeys? Is Sears trying to pull a cross promotion between video games and Thanksgiving? My favorite part of the advert comes when they explain the NES: "Nintendo video game cartridges provide some of the most sophisticated arcade-quality games with impressive graphics, color, music and excitement." Don't oversell that 8-bit console or anything. Perhaps this is a reason why you never go to Sears to buy your game systems.

FROM: Let Them Eat Bad Advertising