smbplumbing com
What if the best Super Mario Bros. movie teaser wasn’t a trailer… but a fake plumbing website?
That’s exactly what SMBPlumbing.com pulled off — and it was brilliant.
The Joke That Became a Marketing Powerhouse
So picture this: you're hyping up a massive animated Mario movie, and instead of going full Hollywood, you create a fictional plumbing company website. That’s what Nintendo and Illumination did with SMBPlumbing.com. And it wasn’t some lazy landing page. It felt like a real Brooklyn plumbing business run by two guys named Mario and Luigi.
They built it out like any mom-and-pop service site—logo, contact info, testimonials, job listings, service map. But every inch of it was soaked in Mario lore. That’s what made it so sticky. You’d poke around for a laugh and suddenly find yourself 20 minutes deep.
A Real Website With a Fake Phone Number That… Actually Works
Right at the top of the site was a phone number: 929‑55‑MARIO. Most people would scroll past. But anyone curious enough to dial in got rewarded. The number worked. You’d get a voicemail from Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day), thanking you for calling and reminding you they don’t say “Let’s‑a wait” — they say “Let’s‑a go.”
If you texted it, you could get updates or even a fake plumber's digital business card. That level of interactivity? That’s the stuff that makes fans feel like insiders.
Built Like a Real Business — If That Business Fought Koopas
The website read like it was built by two Brooklyn brothers who knew how to fix a sink… and occasionally save a princess. Their About Us page said they’re family-owned, “fixing pipes is our game,” and warned about “spiky bosses.” Subtle nods to Wrecking Crew and Bowser, sure. But even casual fans got the joke.
Then there were the testimonials. Some were glowing. Others? Not so much.
One reviewer called them “The SUBPAR Mario Bros” — signed by SpikeIsCool (yep, Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew again). Another claimed their house was trashed, but the dog loved them. That one was signed BrKLnCouple. Their mom even left a glowing five-star review. Corny? Yeah. Effective? Absolutely.
The Hidden Stuff Was the Best Part
Here’s where it got fun. Almost everything on the site had a hidden layer.
Click the “Call Us” banner? It played the GameCube jingle. Click the “Certified Super!” badge? That triggered the classic power-up sound. Even failing their fake CAPTCHA made Bowser growl. And if you passed? You got a Mario Kart startup sound. This wasn’t a site built to sell you something. It was a game in disguise.
Their 404 error page alone had Easter eggs. Hit a dead link, and you’d land on a Brooklyn sewer tunnel filled with pipes and Mario music. Sometimes even an ASCII Lumalee would show up in your browser console. Yeah. Someone actually programmed that in — just in case nerds like us peeked under the hood.
The Job Board, The Map, The Whole World-Building
They added a fake Careers section where you could "apply" to be a dispatcher, bookkeeper, driver, or marketing manager. Every job came with its own jokes, fake employee images, and playful text. It was immersive in a way most movie sites aren’t.
Their service area map covered Brooklyn and Queens, with clickable boroughs that made NES sounds. It even faked a “van tour” schedule. If you lived in New York, Austin, Boston, San Francisco, or LA, you might’ve actually seen a physical Mario Bros. van driving around, matching the one in the site’s header.
A Commercial Straight Outta the ‘80s
Before the website even dropped, they launched with a Super Bowl-style commercial—a parody of the 1989 Super Mario Bros. Super Show! intro. Rap and all. It’s hilarious, nostalgic, and honestly, weirdly catchy.
The ad pushed people straight to SMBPlumbing.com. And when they landed there, it all lined up — same van, same phone number, same vibe. It was a rare moment where a parody didn’t just complement the brand — it became part of the brand.
Fans Went Nuts — And Rightfully So
Reddit lit up. People started calling the number just to hear the voicemail. They posted screenshots of the 404 pages, hunted for Easter eggs, and screen-capped every joke review. Some even tried to "apply" for the fake jobs.
YouTubers broke it down like it was a hidden ARG. One video alone—just someone calling the hotline—racked up tens of thousands of views. People weren’t just laughing at the site. They were treating it like an extension of the movie’s world.
And Then It Disappeared — Like a Warp Pipe Back to Nowhere
Eventually, in late 2023, they pulled the plug. The domain now just redirects to the official movie site. That made sense — the film had finished its theatrical and digital runs. But the campaign had already done its job.
It didn’t feel like marketing. It felt like part of the universe. That’s the magic.
So Why Did This Hit So Hard?
Because it didn’t talk down to fans. It let them play.
Everything — the hotline, the testimonials, the sound cues — gave off that “this is just for you” feeling. You didn’t need to be a hardcore Mario fan to enjoy it. But if you were? You caught the deep cuts. Foreman Spike’s review. The ASCII Lumalee. The old rap theme from ‘89. It rewarded curiosity.
And it respected the fact that the audience doesn’t want to be “sold” something. They want to engage with it. Explore it. Share it.
Bottom Line: SMBPlumbing.com Wasn't Just a Website
It was a portal. Not to the Mushroom Kingdom — to Brooklyn. To the idea that Mario and Luigi were actual guys trying to make it as plumbers. That they’d answer your texts. That their van might just drive down your block.
It was clever, weird, nostalgic, and way more fun than it had any right to be.
And honestly? It might’ve been the most Mario thing Nintendo has done in years.
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