More Mario Kart World Fake Ads

rodneylives — Fri, 18 Apr 2025 14:00:00 +0000

I mentioned these a few days ago, but my favorite part of Mario Kart games these days is the in-universe ads for various Mario-themed automotive products. Whatever world these games are set in, it obviously doesn’t have to worry about global warming, because not only are there plenty of vehicular support companies there, but they’re all either themed or named after some aspect of Marioness. We’re not told literally anything about these companies other than what we can glean their promotional imagery plastered all over the place, but I presume that the Mario characters aren’t just spokespeople/things, but actually own and run them.

In Mario Kart 8, Super Bell Subway was an extravaganza of environmental world building, implying far more about the Mushroom Kingdom than we ever hoped to get, and Mario Kart World is like an extended version of that. As with most Mario games, the only elements that will carry over between games are the ones Nintendo thinks are sufficiently marketable, and even then they’re known to throw out characters that fall out of favor (R.I.P. Toadsworth). But we might consider these glimpses as one version of what every day life in the Super Mario World might be like.

Check out the Mario Wiki page for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: Super Bell Subway, which has a complete list of the signage used in that track. It also mentions that most of that game’s tracks are mentioned on the route maps in that course, as if you could hop a train and go there. Maybe it gave Nintendo’s designers the idea to make Mario Kart World a single cohesive map?

Anyway, here’s some more track signage from this heavily car-dependent version of the Mushroom Kingdom.

“Put it down Donkey Kong. No. Don’t eat the car! Bad ape!”

A sign seen on a high building in Crown City. Maybe this refers to Rainbow Road?

A movie poster seen outside of Boo Cinema in Crown City. I guess Peach isn’t just royalty in Marioland, but a movie star too. Boo Cinema seems to be a chain. They’re open all day and all year, in case you want to watch a movie at four in the morning on Christmas Eve. It’s all good, the ghost staff doesn’t need to sleep.

This seems like it might be a direct reference to the poster of some real-world movie, but I don’t know which it is.

Large poster on what I think is the Koopa Construction building. The big tire refers to the big tire looming over Crown City, I think.

The Dash company uses a standard Mushroom item as its logo.

“We Build Your Homes. We Build Your Towns. We Build Your Dreams. Koopa Construction.” Is it just me, or does that sound a bit sinister?

Why would penguins, who don’t need to sled, start a sled company?

Sorry for the poor quality, these are snipped from the Nintendo Direct video, and blown up really far too. Is that Peach’s crown?

Foo? Foo?? A Smokey Stover reference in this day, age and country of origin? I also don’t know what a Batadon is, but from the logo I think it’s a flying Easter Island head.

I’m sure there’s a good explanation for why the cosmic princess who travels the stars started a Greyhound competitor.

They added these signs to Toad’s Factory after the incident last month. That poor toad, maimed for life.

And, unrelated, under characters there’s this person:

Um, who in the name of the Question Block of Doom is that supposed to be?

rodneylives

FakeAds – Set Side B

More Mario Kart World Fake Ads