Paul Rudd appeared in a Super Nintendo commercial in 1991 and returned for a Switch 2 ad in 2025. The newer spot deliberately echoes the older one’s retro styling and slogan, but shifts the sales pitch: from the SNES’s power to playing together, including through Switch 2’s GameChat feature.
What was the Paul Rudd SNES commercial?
The original ad was a 30-second SNES commercial from 1991. TechSpot describes it as taking place at an abandoned drive-in theater, where Rudd appeared in a youthful, retro-styled pitch for Nintendo’s then-new console. Its report identifies F-Zero, Super Play Action Football, Pilotwings, SimCity and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past among the games referenced. That is a reported list, not a frame-by-frame inventory of everything in the spot. TechSpot’s account of the two commercials
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Why was Paul Rudd back in a Nintendo ad?
Nintendo Life reported on April 20, 2025, that Rudd returned for what it characterized as Nintendo’s first Western Switch 2 commercial. The ad plays on recognition of the 1991 spot: Rudd’s retro look prompts comments from his online friends, including actor Joe Lo Truglio, before the creative turns the old power-focused slogan into a line about playing together. The callback links two campaigns separated by more than three decades without establishing that Rudd is playing the same character. Nintendo Life’s report on the Switch 2 commercial
In a separate report summarizing an interview with IGN’s Brian Altano, Nintendo Life quoted Rudd saying, “Well, Nintendo reached out to me,” and that he “got a real kick out of this idea” of revisiting the original commercial. He also described the new ad as making him nostalgic “in all of the right ways.” Nintendo Life’s summary of Rudd’s IGN interview
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- The next evolution of Nintendo Switch
- One system, three play modes: TV, Tabletop, and Handheld
- Larger, vivid, 7.9” LCD touch screen with support for HDR and up to 120 fps
- Dock that supports 4K when connected to a compatible TV*
- GameChat** lets you voice chat, share your game screen, and connect via video chat as you play
How the 1991 and 2025 ads differ
| Aspect | 1991 SNES commercial | 2025 Switch 2 commercial |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign context | Launch-era advertising for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. | Pre-launch Switch 2 advertising. Nintendo Life called it Nintendo’s first Western Switch 2 commercial. |
| Creative callback | Rudd appeared in a retro-styled pitch, with a slogan framed around console power. | Rudd returned in a similar look; the ad adapts the earlier slogan around playing together. |
| Feature message | The pitch emphasized the SNES’s power. | The pitch emphasized multiplayer and GameChat, according to the reports. |
| Setting and games | TechSpot describes an abandoned drive-in and names F-Zero, Super Play Action Football, Pilotwings, SimCity and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. | The reports describe a multiplayer-focused ad; the listed SNES games should not be mistaken for titles shown being played on Switch 2. |
What the Switch 2 callback says about the campaign
The two commercials use nostalgia differently. The 1991 spot sold a new console through its power; the 2025 version borrows the earlier visual language to introduce a more social pitch centered on multiplayer and GameChat. Its joke depends on the contrast between Rudd’s throwback appearance and friends interacting with him online.
Nintendo Life reported that the Switch 2 launch date announced at the time was June 5, 2025. That date is historical campaign context, not an upcoming release date. The reports establish the ads’ creative connection, but do not provide attributable campaign-reach figures, audience-response data or evidence of a sales effect.
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Rank #2
- The next evolution of the Nintendo Switch system
- One system, three play modes: TV, Tabletop, and Handheld
- Larger, vivid, 7.9” LCD touch screen with support for HDR and up to 120 fps
- Supports up to 4K resolution** when using a compatible game and TV connected via the included Nintendo Switch 2 dock
- Nintendo Switch 2 plays compatible physical and digital Nintendo Switch games.***
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