When Nintendo Asked, "Who Are You?”

A Look Back at Nintendo’s Boldest Rebrand

Started: 2003
Led By: Leo Burnett
Budget: $50,000,000

Nintendo launched an aggressive $50 million marketing campaign in 2003. The slogan was simple: "Who are you?"
It was a shift in tone. A move from mascots to mood.

“This is not about changing who we are,” said George Harrison, Senior VP of Marketing and Corporate Communications.
“Nintendo has been and always will be about making great video games for all ages. This campaign simply enables us to speak with one unified voice.”

The goal? To spotlight the emotional connection between player and game.
From Samus to Donkey Kong. Zelda to Mario. It wasn’t about characters anymore. It was about you.

“Nintendo permanently established video games as a key element of popular culture,” Harrison said.
“And ‘Who Are You?’ embodies the emotional connection players have with their favorite games and characters.”

“This campaign celebrates what makes Nintendo unique — the fact that we offer the widest range of personalities through which you can unleash your other self … your game self.”

The campaign ran everywhere:
30-sheet billboards in major cities.
Transit ads. Mall banners. In-store displays.
Print. Cinema.

The highlight was a 60-second cinema spot, described by Nintendo as one of its most ambitious marketing efforts ever.

Shot in Asia.
500 extras.
Stunt work by the Mortal Kombat: Annihilation team.
Edited by the person who cut Amélie.

The commercial is set to “Hatsukoi” by Kojima Mayumi

It premiered in over 10,000 U.S. theaters on October 30, 2003, before films like The Matrix Revolutions and The Cat in the Hat.

This was Nintendo at its most conceptual.

It simply asked:
Who are you?