Target Customers Might See an Odd Detail Outside Stores

By Michael Hein

The distinctive concrete barriers outside of Target stores were looking more friendly than usual this week. In celebration of the release of Nintendo's new game Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Target has decorated its infamous concrete balls to look like the beloved character. Fans wasted no time in posing for pictures with Kirby.

Target stores around the world have adopted concrete barriers in front of the store — massive spheres stuck to the ground and painted red. This week, the company took advantage of that infrastructure by wrapping cloth around the balls so they would resemble Nintendo's spherical hero. Photos on social media show at least two different facial expressions on these impromptu Kirby faces, which will stay in place for a couple of weeks to promote Kirby and the Forgotten Land. The game is available now at Target and other retailers.

As soon as pictures of these promos went up online, Kirby fans were talking about stealing them on social media. Of course, they haven't been left out as free gifts for visitors, but it also doesn't appear that they're being jealously guarded either. The question is: where else could you find a perfectly shaped sphere to display your Kirby bollard on?

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is available now at retailers including Target or on the Nintendo digital store. Here's a look at fans freaking out over the Kirby covers greeting them this weekend.

Unexpected

Whether they knew about the new Kirby game or not, there were plenty of fans who were caught off guard by the Kirby balls at Target. This was a pleasant way to start a shopping trip.

prevnext

Begging

Fans were not shy about asking Target to give away the Kirby covers as gifts to loyal shoppers. It doesn't look like the retailer answered any of these pleas.

prevnext

Photo Op

Naturally, this was a great opportunity for some fans to get a photo with Kirby as if he were really there. Some of the stagings got quite elaborate.

prevnext

Recycled

The Kirby balls were actually a fresh take on an old Target promotional campaign used for the last Super Mario game. Fans noted that it made much more sense in this case, since Kirby is actually a sphere while Mario and Luigi are humanoid.

prevnext

Drawing Strength

Fans joked about drawing strength from the Kirby balls, referencing the sprite's real power in video games or simply his symbolic power in the wild.

prevnext

Behind the Scenes

An unconfirmed photo seems to show the instructions for Target employees to put out the "Kirby Bollard covers" and instructs them to take the covers off on April 10.

prevnext

Stealing

Finally, fans joked about stealing one of these adorable Kirby covers as if it were the heist of the century.

prev
0comments
Start the Conversation

of