Imagery is an important thing in advertising. It's not always about finding the right theme; sometimes it's about looking out for subtle (and unintended) symbolism in your advert. Apparently Taito, the makers of Qix for the NES, did not heed that warning as they have a commercial that is very confusing and layered with bad undertones. The biggest problem being that it looks like Qix is sucking this poor boy into the TV, Poltergeist style. But if that's the case then wouldn't the commercial be telling us that Qix sucks? Or maybe Qix is blowing that boy (there will be no Michael Jackson jokes in this Commercial Break) ... but that's no good, because it would be saying that Qix blows. No matter how you look at it, this commercial is telling you that this game is no good.

I suppose one could argue that the boy is actually just floating there, suspended in air by a force as great as Qix. I think it's a shame they wasted the weightless concept on Qix, it would have worked a whole lot better if it were advertising some NASA game. Of course, when you read the subtitle, "Your Mind is Your Only Weapon," you realize that this is light years beyond NASA ... you control Qix with your mind, there's no need for the control. Oh, well, maybe that's not right. Whatever the case, this advert sucks.

My main concern with this Qix commercial is not the sucking or blowing of the young boy, but rather the what it says on the right-hand side. "It's Out of Control." Actually, it's NOT out of control ... the entire game is about taking back the board, controlling as much area as you can. The advertisers would have known that if they had read my review of Qix! Of course, these are the same people that wrote down that "others say it's outrageous." If this is outrageous, then I would hate to see what they thought of Lawrence Welk! What more can you expect from a commercial that promises "sophisticated" multiplayer action?

FROM: Who Shot Bad Advertising? (Part Two)