Rio 2016 Olympics: Mario’s appearance didn’t cost Nintendo a single cent

Last month, during the ending ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympics, millions of people from all around the world were quite surprised to see Mario appear on screen (along with several other popular Japanese icons, such as Captain Tsubasa, Hello Kitty, or Doraemon). What’s more, they were most certainly not expecting to see Shinzo Abe (Japan’s prime minster) making its entrance wearing Mario’s iconic cap.

And yet, that’s exactly what happened. Wondering how much it cost Nintendo? Well… nothing! Not a single cent. Yasuhiro Minagawa, a spokesman from Nintendo Co., Ltd. was pretty adamant about that:

I want to make that clear. We did not pay. And we are not going to become Olympic sponsors either.

In fact, it’s Nintendo who was approached for this special collaboration, not the other way around.

Considering companies pay hundred of millions of dollars to become official sponsors of the Olympics, it’s pretty amusing that Nintendo managed to get so much exposure… for free.

In the past couple of years, Nintendo has been talking a lot about strengthening its IPs, and making sure as many people as possible are exposed to them. Well, with this little “stunt” at the Rio 2016 Olympics, they certainly managed to reach a lot more people than usual!

Source: Japan Today