A recent Mario Kart World online announcement by the official Nintendo of Europe X account is being hijacked by fan comments featuring nothing but a still image taken from Sega’s latest Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds advertisement. The image features a run-down RV, a tortoise, and a cow, all of which the ad uses to cheekily allude to Mario Kart World. The same image repeats no matter how much you scroll down the comments section.
While the Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds ad in question draws inspiration from the Sega-Nintendo feud that took place in the late 80s and early 90s, the references it makes are specific to the latest Mario Kart title.
Using the now-infamous image as an example, the RV symbolizes Mario Kart World’s large, interconnected Free Roam map, which players can explore at their leisure. To account for the map’s size, several of the tracks feature large, wide layouts, which have made some players feel like they are moving slower than before, hence the tortoise (it may also simply be a reference to the series’ popular Green Shell power-up). The cow is the easiest to explain, as it’s a reference to the now-popular Cow racer, which itself is based on the NPC cows featured in previous Mario Kart tracks.
While it is unlikely that Nintendo will respond to this great Sonic fan invasion, many seem happy to see Sega’s more aggressive advertisements return after so long. Given the power of memes and the internet, however, it looks like Sega will be able to rely more on viral marketing this time around.
