That Time Paul Rudd Appeared in a SNES Commercial

Nintendo has been a major part of the video game scene ever since they made their mark with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System back in 1983. Once the company established themselves and moved into the 16-bit era competing with rival Japanese company SEGA, Nintendo went on the aggressive and launched major ad campaigns to combat with SEGA and their forthcoming “Genesis does what Nintendon’t” ads. One such ad even featured a young star in the making, Paul Rudd, who was just getting his start in Hollywood.

This is that time Paul Rudd was in a Super Nintendo commercial.

Back in 1991, the man who doesn’t age appeared in a fun Super Nintendo commercial for Nintendo that expressed the new slogan for the time, “Now you’re playing with power. SUPER POWER.” This has since become a fun meme of sorts, trying in with Paul Rudd’s roll in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Ant-Man.

This commercial was Paul Rudd’s first acting gig, and it is wild to see how far he has come since then. He starred in Clueless, made us laugh hysterically in Anchorman, and showed that he can even be an unlikely superhero in Ant-Man, but it kind of makes you wonder: how much of a catalyst was that SNES commerical? Would his career have taken off without it, or did Nintendo give him the chance of a lifetime that propelled him to super-stardom?

Okay. Maybe that is a bit of a stretch, but it is interesting to think about how famous actors got started, and it is pretty awesome that Paul Rudd genuinely got his start in a Nintendo commercial:

The commercial is a wonderful trip down memory lane, showing off F-Zero, Pilotwings, Sim City, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I remember this commercial so well from when I was younger, and I cannot even begin to tell you how many hours I sunk into both Sim City and A Link to the Past.

The past few That Time articles I have done have mostly focused on some darker or weirder points in Nintendo’s history (And don’t worry, I have plenty more of those stories), but I thought it would be fun and a nice change of pace to focus on something more lighthearted and nostalgic.

Paul Rudd, we salute you! You are not only the man who never ages, but you have been stealing our hearts since 1991 when you starred in this Super Nintendo commercial.

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Thank you for stopping by Nintendo Link and enjoying this “That Time” article. What do you think of Ant-Man being in an old SNES commercial? Do you think he has aged much since then? Let us know what you think in the comments below! Happy gaming, everyone.