Nintendo DS - I Play for Me : Portable Gaming for Women

Nintendo DS needed to overcome a natural barrier with women ages 25–35, a group that didn’t see portable gaming as relevant. My partner and I introduced an early campaign to shift that perception, presenting Nintendo DS as an easy, stylish, and emotionally accessible downtime option. The strategy used recognizable women who played DS, framing it not as a hardcore hobby, but as a personal treat for moments between work, travel, and daily pressure. My partner and I sold a campaign to make Nintendo DS feel relevant to adult women with limited free time. Through celebrity-led print, TV, and online ads, we positioned DS as stylish, accessible, and mentally rewarding downtime, not just a niche gaming platform. The Jessica Alba executions around Brain Age highlighted the core idea: DS as a way to use your mind anywhere.

This focus set the stage for the concept’s evolution into the broader I Play for Me campaign. I include it as a strategic concepting case: audience expansion, platform creation, and product repositioning for a culturally adjacent market. Brain Age became Super Mario, and Jessica Alba was replaced with America Ferrara. The campaign was successful and extended with Liv Tyler, Carrie Underwood, and Nicole Kidman.

↑Back to Top