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In one of the most bizarre developments we've ever seen from Nintendo, the company today announced a promotion with S&G Flowers to create and market a new flower breed to be titled, "The Pikmin Flower." The five-petal flower resembles little Pikmin characters.
Executive VP at Nintendo of America, Peter Main offered an honest explanation, "We used a variety of innovative and unusual activities to build anticipation for the Nintendo GameCube. Naming a flower after a video game is just one more way Nintendo is 'seeding' creative marketing."

"As the number one pastime in America, gardening continues to take on broad consumer appeal among people of all ages," says Keith Cable, S&G Flowers' VP of Sales and Marketing. "With fun products like Pikmin, Nintendo is connecting with consumers outside of the living room. "The Pikmin Flower" truly captures the essence of the Pikmin video game characters." 

"The Pikmin Flower" will soon be known among botanists as Bacopa Cabana - of course part of the plant genus Sutera. For those of you wondering, the flower will be made available to agricultural markets in April and to the general public in the second half of 2002. Click to view image of the cool Nintendo flowers. The full press release reads as follows...


Nintendo Redefines "Grass Roots" Marketing for Pikmin Game

REDMOND, Wash. Dec. 11, 2001 - You may not be able to plant a Donkey Kong Daffodil or a Mario Marigold, but soon you can grow a flower named after a brand new Nintendo franchise right in your own backyard.

"The Pikmin Flower" is a real-life white flower with a yellow center that closely resembles the loveable plant-like characters from Nintendo's newest action-strategy game, Pikmin, only for NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Created by renowned game-designer Shigeru Miyamoto, the developer responsible for such perennial video game favorites as Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong, Pikmin was released on Dec. 3, two weeks after the Nov. 18 launch of NINTENDO GAMECUBE, this year's gotta-have-it holiday video game system.

A promotion between Nintendo of America and Syngenta Seed's flower brand, S&G Flowers/USA, the five-petaled "Pikmin Flower," a member of plant genus Sutera, will be available to gardeners, video game enthusiasts and consumers alike in April 2002.

"This extraordinary marketing initiative to consumers demonstrates that at the core of Nintendo is creativity," says Peter Main, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America. "We used a variety of innovative and unusual activities to build anticipation for the NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Naming a flower after a video game is just one more way Nintendo is 'seeding' creative marketing."

"As the number one pastime in America, gardening continues to take on broad consumer appeal among people of all ages," says Keith Cable, S&G Flowers' vice president, sales and marketing. "With fun products like Pikmin, Nintendo is connecting with consumers outside of the living room. 
'The Pikmin Flower' truly captures the essence of the Pikmin video game characters."

Pikmin tells the story of an alien traveler trapped on an unfamiliar garden-like planet in search of the pieces he needs to repair his space ship. Only with the help of the indigenous Pikmin, colorful plant-like creatures that he extracts from the ground, can the spaceman gather all the parts to repair his ship and escape the poisonous atmosphere of this strange planet.

This new flower breed, Bacopa Cabana, will officially be named "The Pikmin Flower." It will launch to the agricultural market in April 2002, and will be brought to consumers the second half of 2002, under the Proven Winners brand, a top-selling line of plants and flowers. Available at garden centers nationwide, the Pikmin flower will be featured in hanging baskets, and mixed containers.

Syngenta is a world-leading agribusiness. The company ranks first in crop protection, and third in the high-value commercial seeds market. Syngenta's worldwide flower brand, S&G Flowers, is headquartered in Enkhuizen, Holland, with breeding and distribution facilities all around the world. S&G Flowers is today's leading breeder of major bedding and container flower plants, including impatiens, pansies, geranium and petunias; and has symbolized excellence in flower seed genetics and technology since the early 1800's.


Easily one of the more memorable press releases Nintendo has ever put forth. Nintendo is making a bold marketing attempt with this promotion... the free press this could generate for GameCube is at the center of the stunt. If you see "The Pikmin Flower" on CNN, it worked.

December 11, 2001

Jim - News Contributor, GameCubicle


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