Is television the only place ads are shown?

Furthermore, if NOA are making ads targeted toward kids and airing them on kids' television networks, what's the problem? Should they not advertise to children at all?

I don't really see how featuring an olympic athlete in your commercial is somehow pandering to a group of 8-14-year-olds who probably wouldn't even recognize her. Those ads were targeting adult women. Agron is from Glee, and Sarah Hyland is from Modern Family -- surely they'll get some teenagers in those demographics, but mostly older ones, and almost all women. But I think the main target was probably college-age women.

This is a big over-reaction to the fact that the first commercial we've seen so far for SM3DW in America depicts a group of teenagers playing it together, and not an adult woman playing it by herself while making cat noises.

NOA hasn't exactly been on the ball with their marketing the past couple of years, but you have no case here.

I thought Nintendo was NOT for kids, very surprising indeed.

SUUUUPAA MARIO SREEE DEE WAARRDOO!!!

This isn't a recent thing only for Mario 3D World -- Pikmin 3, Luigi's Mansion, Lego City, the Wii U launch ads, NSMB2 are all much more "kiddie-centric" from NOA versus their European and Japanese counterparts.

Pikmin 3 Japanese commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcAi0uTHr-Y

Pikmin 3 UK commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zknrphvsil0

Pikmin 3 North American commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSmCv7hrPy4

Can you guess which is the only spot that has a kid as the central marketing figure? Why is it that NOA is the only Nintendo division that refuses to advertise to anyone over the age of 14?

It seems like ever since Metroid: Other M did not sell to their expectations that Reggie and company at NOA said "screw it" and started marketing to the kids market pretty much exclusively (while also trying to deny the US market things like Xenoblade and Last Story, only reneging when pressed by the gaming press/petitions). 

Next time you guys are stomping your feet at someone saying Nintendo is for kids ... maybe some of the blame should be pointed NOA's way ... they are very definitely perpuating that image. 

Don't hold your breath that this crap division has any idea how to market something like Bayonetta 2 or X.

Japan rules in this case

She's not pretending, watch her eyes

Because Nintendo of America was so fucking garbage Iwata had to clean the top brasses House over here and come fix it himself

This advertisement shits all over everything else http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Q1EoUimxak

Having your market http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zknrphvsil0 (watch em in german)

These are good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqiSZ3fyP6s

It's sold better in NA so maybe Japan should take notes B]

I really don't give a damn, i live in Jordan and the only ad i ever saw in the past 10 years is for AC IV and that's because the game features arabic subtitles aside from that no ad ever airs here so i have no opinion in this

She ain't bad looking but so flat chested. 

I've also seen those recent PS4 and X1 commercials a lot more, but -- let's be honest -- it's not like those advertisementd are directed at a more mature audience. They feed on adolescent fantasies.

At least the Mario ad, which I admit is pretty boring, shows actual gameplay.