Recently, we were scrolling through Twitter when we came across this old, Japanese commercial for a range of Super Mario Bros-themed furniture and noticed something peculiar.
The commercial, posted by the Japanese Twitter user @isyumail, shows Mario climbing up a painting of Princess Peach, before falling through the artwork and getting laughed at by a group of baddies (and also Toad, for some reason). You might be thinking, reading this, 'Well, what's so strange about that? ' But the commercial actually predates Super Mario 64, the first game to feature Mario jumping in and out of paintings, by over a decade.
From what we were able to find out, the commercial was produced in 1986 for a line of furniture from the Japanese company Kurogane Kosakusho. This company was primarily known for creating office furniture and children's study desks and began collaborating with Nintendo in the mid-'80s on a range of products specifically designed for kids.
The product line ranged in price from ¥49,000 to ¥70,000 and turned out to be the first of many collaborations between the two companies, with Kurogane Kosakusho later releasing furniture to tie in with Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and Super Mario Advance. While we obviously can't say for sure if this advert was bouncing around the brains of the Super Mario 64 team, it's interesting to wonder whether the commercial had any impact on the inclusion of the game's paintings. If we ever manage to bend the ear of anyone on the team, we'll be sure to ask!