Nintendo ad in 1960s Playboy magazine

When MB's Twister was first released in the 1960s, Nintendo acquired the rights to localize the game for the Japanese market.

Various box versions of Nintendo Twister

Nintendo targeted the game at families as well as groups of young adults.

As we showed in a previous post on this blog, to connect with the latter group, they sponsored editorial content and placed an ad in Men's Club magazine.

Men's Club magazine November 1967 

I recently discovered another ad that was included in the Japanese magazine Weekly Playboy (週刊プレイボーイ).

As an aside, this Playboy magazine is not affiliated with the internationally renowned publication featuring the rabbit logo (which first appeared in the Japanese market in the mid-1970s), although the content is similar. This publication simply shares the same name—likely not by coincidence.

In the August 8, 1966 edition, we find a full-page ad by Nintendo strategically placed next to that week's centerfold model (referred to, again probably not coincidentally, as a "Playmate").

The text beneath the photo exclaims: "Summer! Youth! Twister!" (夏だ！若さだ！ツイスター！)

It continues:

"The season of youth is here — come on, let’s play boldly and with style. You’re with that special someone. And together, you’ll fully enjoy the thrill of youth. This summer, it’s sure to captivate you completely. Of course, we’re talking about the Twister game!"

The message is quite clear, I think.

This is likely the only instance where Nintendo advertised opposite a nude model—not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Although the Twister games were sold under the "Nintendo Game" ("NG") brand, this ad features Nintendo's Ace of Spades logo, a holdover from when the company was still predominantly a playing card manufacturer.

For further info about Nintendo's Twister, check this previous post.