Kirby Air Riders – What’s that? Huh? (Nintendo Switch 2) – YouTube
Nintendo UK’s ad, titled “Kirby Air Riders – What’s that? Huh?”, pairs gameplay clips with a bafflingly earnest rap — the kind of corporate-friendly rhyme you’d expect in an awkward workplace-safety video rather than a game spot (think of that odd Wendy’s jingle, and you’ll get the tone). The lyrics boast lines such as “Kirby has loads of machines, uses his copy abilities,” and “wow, giant bird in the sky. BAH, that’s one big eye!” which are as literal as they are absurd.
It’s cheesy, delightfully strange, and oddly endearing. I wouldn’t bank on it becoming a viral staple like the Splatoon squid ad — and that spot didn’t exactly translate to a sales explosion — but in an era of safe, forgettable ads, I have to admire Nintendo for trying something playful and unexpected.
Kirby Air Riders’ fan-favorite racer is an absurdly speedy, oversized hamster named Rick who has been steamrolling beta lobbies: “Why is THIS the face of carnage and destruction?”
