The campaign for Wii, created by Karmarama, will be replaced by ads for its handheld console, Nintendo DS.
The company says that it has been forced to pull the ads because retailers have been running out of consoles and it would be irresponsible to continue with the campaign.
A Nintendo spokesman says: "We have been running the campaign all year round, but we want to take a responsible stance this Christmas and not fuel demand."
Nintendo adds that, as the campaign is not seasonally themed, it can be put back to the New Year when the Christmas rush is over. The media planning and buying is handled by Mediaedge:cia.
One ad industry insider says: "You can tell what has been happening. They have a lot of spots on TV, but I am seeing more ads for the DS than I am for the Wii, so you can draw your own conclusions."
Although production has been stepped up to 1.8 million units a month, Nintendo says that it has not been able to meet the demand.
The game company has increased its forecast of the number of units it expects to sell in the year to March 2008 from 14 million to 17.5 million.
( original article source: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/item/58871/258/262/3 )
