When Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D for Nintendo 3DS in June 2011, the company backed the remake with a memorable ad campaign fronted by Robin Williams and his daughter, Zelda Williams.
That campaign remains one of Nintendo’s most talked-about marketing efforts for a handheld remake, combining celebrity cachet with a personal anecdote that resonates with both mainstream audiences and long-time fans of the franchise.
Background and context
The 2011 Ocarina of Time 3D release brought one of Nintendo’s most influential Zelda entries to the handheld 3DS platform.
Nintendo of Europe’s handheld marketing team developed a campaign that leaned on an already well-known anecdote: Robin Williams had named his daughter Zelda after the Princess Zelda character.
Nintendo enlisted director Julien Seri to translate that personal connection into a suite of commercials filmed across multiple sessions.
How the campaign came together
Gabriel Moszkowski, the Nintendo of Europe marketer credited with the concept, said the idea formed quickly after he heard the Williams anecdote on a late-night program and moved to contact Robin’s representation.
Moszkowski explained that he verified the story, sought rapid approval from Nintendo leadership, and made the offer to both Robin and Zelda because he wanted the spot to feel authentic and familial.
Both accepted and were reportedly enthusiastic to appear in a campaign tied to a game they loved.
Julien Seri, the French director hired to shoot the commercials, recalled that Robin Williams personally selected Seri from several candidates after reviewing director reels.
Seri described Williams as relaxed, generous and easy to direct, and said the actor’s warmth and comic spontaneity brought genuine moments to the set.
The campaign was shot in six days spread over roughly six months to accommodate Williams’ schedule, with production taking place in New York and San Francisco.
Seri noted the first commercial was filmed very quickly, in about an hour and a half, while the remaining spots were completed during subsequent production blocks.
Journalistic paraphrase of notable statements
Zelda Williams had previously recounted that her parents were already fans of the Zelda name during her mother’s pregnancy, and that the name ‘‘stuck’’ for personal reasons rather than literary ones.
Robin Williams had long spoken about discovering and enjoying Nintendo hardware, and he conveyed that the game had a lasting, personal significance for him.
Legacy and factual notes
Robin Williams passed away in 2014; the Ocarina of Time 3D ads remain a frequently cited example of Nintendo leveraging authentic storytelling in marketing.
Nintendo continues to use channels such as Nintendo Direct and the Nintendo eShop to announce and distribute major releases and remasters, while the 3DS era stands as a key period when Nintendo experimented with high-profile crossovers between pop culture and game promotion.
The Ocarina of Time 3D campaign endures in discussions of game marketing because it married a widely known personal story with a faithful presentation of a canonical Nintendo property, and because the production involved collaborators—Moszkowski and Seri—who had existing experience working within Nintendo’s advertising framework.
That campaign remains one of Nintendo’s most talked-about marketing efforts for a handheld remake, combining celebrity cachet with a personal anecdote that resonates with both mainstream audiences and long-time fans of the franchise.
Background and context
The 2011 Ocarina of Time 3D release brought one of Nintendo’s most influential Zelda entries to the handheld 3DS platform.
Nintendo of Europe’s handheld marketing team developed a campaign that leaned on an already well-known anecdote: Robin Williams had named his daughter Zelda after the Princess Zelda character.
Nintendo enlisted director Julien Seri to translate that personal connection into a suite of commercials filmed across multiple sessions.
How the campaign came together
Gabriel Moszkowski, the Nintendo of Europe marketer credited with the concept, said the idea formed quickly after he heard the Williams anecdote on a late-night program and moved to contact Robin’s representation.
Moszkowski explained that he verified the story, sought rapid approval from Nintendo leadership, and made the offer to both Robin and Zelda because he wanted the spot to feel authentic and familial.
Both accepted and were reportedly enthusiastic to appear in a campaign tied to a game they loved.
Julien Seri, the French director hired to shoot the commercials, recalled that Robin Williams personally selected Seri from several candidates after reviewing director reels.
Seri described Williams as relaxed, generous and easy to direct, and said the actor’s warmth and comic spontaneity brought genuine moments to the set.
The campaign was shot in six days spread over roughly six months to accommodate Williams’ schedule, with production taking place in New York and San Francisco.
Seri noted the first commercial was filmed very quickly, in about an hour and a half, while the remaining spots were completed during subsequent production blocks.
Journalistic paraphrase of notable statements
Zelda Williams had previously recounted that her parents were already fans of the Zelda name during her mother’s pregnancy, and that the name ‘‘stuck’’ for personal reasons rather than literary ones.
Robin Williams had long spoken about discovering and enjoying Nintendo hardware, and he conveyed that the game had a lasting, personal significance for him.
Legacy and factual notes
Robin Williams passed away in 2014; the Ocarina of Time 3D ads remain a frequently cited example of Nintendo leveraging authentic storytelling in marketing.
Nintendo continues to use channels such as Nintendo Direct and the Nintendo eShop to announce and distribute major releases and remasters, while the 3DS era stands as a key period when Nintendo experimented with high-profile crossovers between pop culture and game promotion.
The Ocarina of Time 3D campaign endures in discussions of game marketing because it married a widely known personal story with a faithful presentation of a canonical Nintendo property, and because the production involved collaborators—Moszkowski and Seri—who had existing experience working within Nintendo’s advertising framework.
