Illumination knows how to market its movies.
The computer animation studio recently released a "Super Mario Bros. Movie" ad that took the entire Super Bowl by storm ahead of its April 7 release.
Illumination set the "Super Mario Bros. Movie's" release date on April 7, 2023, a date earlier than previously expected if past leaks are to be believed.
Super Mario Bros. Movie Super Bowl Ad Details
Illumination's "Super Mario Bros. Movie" Super Bowl ad comes with nostalgia and a bit of cleverness at the end. The ad featured Mario and his brother Luigi working their plumbing services for a distressed customer, who is obviously in need of their services.
This ad then highlights the brothers' services and promotes their fast, speedy, and low-cost pipe repair, as evidenced by the lady's "comment" that "the only thing they didn't drain is her bank account."
Illumination built the entire ad around the theme of "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show," the Plumber Rap.
For those unaware, "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!" originally aired in 1989 and was famed for producing "short, rubbish adventures" sandwiched between wild, live-action bumper segments, per Destructoid. The show featured WWE star Captain Lou Albano as the titular protagonist Mario and Canadian actor Danny Wells as Luigi.
Meanwhile, the Plumber Rap theme song was based on the Overworld theme of Super Mario Bros., composed by Koji Kondo, per Gameranx. However, to make the background music for the ad, TV theme composer Shuki Levy made some changes to the theme to turn it into a rap song.
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Levy also provided the rap song's lyrics, which were sung by Albano and Wells themselves.
However, didn't come with just a healthy dose of nostalgia alone. The ad also featured a hotline number and a website that, surprisingly, is real.
People who visit the website will see that it promotes the brothers' plumbing business to a T. It even comes with testimonials that, interestingly, come with only one 5-star review, a one-star review, and a two-star review revealing that the brothers left their client's house a mess.
It also comes with its own easter eggs, though we'll let you find them yourself. Regardless, the easter eggs are full of references to the popular Nintendo game and the company's other games, like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
Those who call on the phone number in the ad (929-55-MARIO) are greeted by a message recorded by Luigi, played by Charlie Day, the actor who lent his voice to the character in the movie, per Twitter user Glitch.
Super Mario Bros. Movie Details
"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" is scheduled for release on April 7, 2023, in North America and the UK and Europe in late-March - much earlier than the former region.
Chris Pratt voices Mario while Charlie Day of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" fame voices his brother, Luigi. Additionally, Anya Taylor-Joy, Seth Rogen, and Jack Black voice Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, and Bowser, respectively.
The movie is co-produced by Illuminations' founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and Super Mario Bros. creator Shigeru Miyamoto.
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