Film audiences face a dose of experimental marketing this weekend as Nintendo launches its first "live" adverts in London cinemas.
The advertisements involve two actors - the first, playing a teenager called Steve, sitting at the front of the cinema. As the advert runs on the big screen, his mother, "Elsa", will enter the theatre in search of her son, the lights will go up and the pair will face off by playing computer tennis on a Nintendo Wii games console.
Nintendo says it hopes the adverts - to be staged during Picturehouse cinema screenings in Clapham, Greenwich and Brixton - will be more effective than traditional formats.
A company spokesman said: "People tend to switch off during cinema adverts, or chat with their friends. But with live actors playing a game in front of you, we think it will get people's attention."
Although the advert will only play during selected screenings of Pirates Of The Caribbean 3, Nintendo hopes word-of-mouth will help generate brand appeal.
