I agree with Smoked Hostage first post. I also think this game is going to suck. The best way to make sales for an inferior product is to compare it to a product that is vaguely similar. The reason they don't compare it to Need For Speed or GT, Forza, Midnight Club..... is because it just doesn't compete.

Yeah I kinda thought that too, you're not gaining anything by attacking another genre, oh man this ain't your Kiddy JRPG play a REAL RPG like Fallout... its not even the same fanbases not that they don't cross paths but you're not selling it to people that love the other genre you should be telling people how its better than other games in the same genre.

So the ad's not really bashing Nintendo, but still falling for that "people will buy it if you knock on something percieved as less manly/adult/cool/ect." notion.

Plus as others have pointed out, just because the fires and explosions are cartoonish doesn't mean those games don't have a lot of mayhem.

not that funny or well written, why couldn't they at least have made a better parody

You're right, Sega had more style, thier commercials were often very catchy and fun to watch.

Activision isn't even in the same league when it comes to competition bashing.

Just look at this one (wasn't aired in Europe, but still one of my favourites)

I'm skeptical of the good part based on how they're marketing it. It reminds me of something else I don't care for- politics. If the only way to make yourself (or your product) good is to bash the competition, then you're no good either. Market your strengths, tell me why to vote for (buy) you, don't tell me why I shouldn't vote for (buy) your competition. And doing so in gaming is even worse, since there are so many other options. I don't follow PS3 games, but I know there's GT5, ModNation Racers, and isn't there at least one Need for Speed game? All of these are alternative things I could buy on the same system! And for competing systems, Forza's only the tip of the iceberg. So you're telling me not to get Kart games? Fine, guess I'll get GT5 and Forza for my real racing fix! Blur? What's that? Oh, they told me not to buy kart games? Tell them thanks for their suggestion, I'm getting a kick out of these racing games!

the choice of mario kart makes a lot of sense. The game is a kart racer but with a realistic art style. So it's going 'hey look, we are just like mario kart except our weapons and cars are much cooler and real. You get the same fun as mario kart but without kiddy cartoony family stuff!'

otherwise people might think this game is some kind of racing simulator like forza or GT.  hell from the style alone people are going to think its like need for speed. It parodies mario kart since that is the most popular and well known game of the genre blur is in

I don't know if you know much about the game, but it's actually closer to a kart racer than any other racing sub genre.It's a colourful arcade style game with an emphasis on vehicular combat. It's got four player split screen and encourages multiplayer gaming more than it does single player. That's a lot closer to a kart racer than say GT5, Forza or even Need for Speed. It's directly competing with Modnation Racer's, MK Wii and Split/Second (which isn't a kart racer at all). The Blur ad isn't telling you to not buy kart racer's, it's saying that it's a better alternative to the child like kart racer's that have been released (Sega All Star's, Mario Kart, Crash Bandicoot Racing, Modnation etc).

It's a dirty marketing tactic, similar to the Apple vs PC ad's and the Coke vs Pepsi ad's. I just don't see a reason for people to be upset over a marketing tactic that may or may not work. People get way to offended over game's these day's, I like to debate about stuff, but I won't feel like Activisions drop kicked me in the back of the head every time they say, sell, market something I don't agree with.

The ad was funny and satirical, like the old Sega ad's, the new Sony ad's and the current Apple ad's.

sorry i loled hard... not because i agree which i don't its just funny as hell lol

But how am I supposed to know this from that ad?

OT: I thought the ad was pretty good... until "Race like a big boy."