The Wii pitched by Alpha Moms

George Harrison, Nintendo of America‘s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications had this to say: “Our core presumption is if we could get someone to put their hands on the controller, they would be hooked “

So who is Nintendo looking to get hooked? Yeah, you’ve heard it before, they’re looking to “pimp” the Wii to non-gamers, but who in specific? Moms. They’re doing their best to lure in the crowd who is first to say that you should stop playing videogames. You know what? It’s working.

The LA Times reports that Nintendo merged viral marketing techniques with, off all things, Tupperware parties in the months leading up to the Wii launch. Nintendo recruited a handful of gregarious, tech-savvy moms, “alpha moms” if you will, to share the console with their friends.

Linda Perry, who started a Yahoo parents’ group called Peachhead, was one of three designated, and decidedly animated, Wii promoters in Los Angeles. She sent out chalkboards inviting 35 friends to “come out and play” in a bash at the Chateau Marmont.

The outcome? “Most people were like, ‘I don’t play games,’ ” said Perry, 41, of Venice Beach. By the end of the night, she said, “everybody was playing it. People were working up a sweat.” Wii-sports for parents, and Brain Age for the old folks. We wonder if they’ll come up with a Wii game that your house pet can get into?

Via LA Times

George Harrison, Nintendo of America‘s senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications had this to say: “Our core presumption is if we could get someone to put their hands on the controller, they would be hooked “

So who is Nintendo looking to get hooked? Yeah, you’ve heard it before, they’re looking to “pimp” the Wii to non-gamers, but who in specific? Moms. They’re doing their best to lure in the crowd who is first to say that you should stop playing videogames. You know what? It’s working.

The LA Times reports that Nintendo merged viral marketing techniques with, off all things, Tupperware parties in the months leading up to the Wii launch. Nintendo recruited a handful of gregarious, tech-savvy moms, “alpha moms” if you will, to share the console with their friends.

Linda Perry, who started a Yahoo parents’ group called Peachhead, was one of three designated, and decidedly animated, Wii promoters in Los Angeles. She sent out chalkboards inviting 35 friends to “come out and play” in a bash at the Chateau Marmont.

The outcome? “Most people were like, ‘I don’t play games,’ ” said Perry, 41, of Venice Beach. By the end of the night, she said, “everybody was playing it. People were working up a sweat.” Wii-sports for parents, and Brain Age for the old folks. We wonder if they’ll come up with a Wii game that your house pet can get into?

Via LA Times