E4 partners with Nintendo Wii U Mario Kart TV

23 May 2014

Channel 4 Sales today announced a new partnership with E4 and Nintendo to celebrate its latest release Mario Kart 8 on Wii U, due to hit the shelves on Friday 30th May.

Mario Kart 8’s new Mario Kart TV feature allows players to share a 30, 45 or 60-second highlight reel of their best race moments with their friends immediately after play via Nintendo’s MiiVerse social network and YouTube.

In this exclusive partnership with E4, from the game’s release on Friday 30th May to Monday 2nd June, players using Mario Kart TV to upload their race highlights to MiiVerse and YouTube, will also be able to enter a competition to win one of five chances to have their race highlights broadcast on E4. Players can enter their details for a chance to win via a linked E4 Nintendo competition page.

Each evening from Monday 2nd June to Friday 6th June, one winning player’s race highlights showreel, including the player’s name, will be broadcast in commercial airtime at approx. 8.10pm on E4. The five winners will also each win a real-life Mario Kart cup.

To promote the competition to win this unique opportunity – and find out more about the new Mario Kart 8 game – ad spots will be broadcast across E4 between Friday 23rd May and Sunday 1st June.

E4 viewers will be given the chance to win a Wii U – the competition will be advertised in the winning players ad spots.

The partnership was brokered by Matt Waller, Group Partnerships Manager, Channel 4 Sales and Liam Hannan, Communications Manager at MEC.

The spot creative was designed and created by the Picture Production Company (PPC).

Danny Peace, Agency Principal, Channel 4 Sales said: “This bespoke partnership with Nintendo and E4 gives viewers a money can’t buy opportunity to win the chance to see their very own game play broadcast in peak-time on E4. It builds upon Channel 4 Sales’ strong track record in creating truly innovative and creative marketing solutions that engage clients’ brands with consumers in a unique way.”

Roger Langford, Mario Brand Manager at Nintendo UK said: “Mario Kart TV is a great addition to the Mario Kart functionality and we think it’s something that fans will really enjoy. It’s great to rewatch in detail those key moments in the race, whether it’s getting blue-shelled, exploring the new anti-gravity mode or reliving your victory as you cross the finish line, E4 is a perfect vehicle for highlighting this feature to a young and engaged audience and we’re looking forward to seeing the entries.”

Ends