Cowboy Jed

Cowboy Jed showing off Bowser's "squidded" Flame Flyer

“Get behind the wheel!”

—Cowboy Jed, Second Mario Kart Wii TV Spot

Cowboy Jed is a fictional advertising mascot created for the North American release of Mario Kart Wii. He appears in three American commercials to promote Mario Kart Wii. He is portrayed by Gibson Nolte in the original English commercials and by an unknown actor in the Canadian French commercials.

Jed is constantly found at the "Mario Kart Emporium", apparently a sort of kart rental or sales store that he owns; the commercials themselves are intended as parodies of those for car dealerships. He always introduces himself with, "Yee-haw! Howdy! It's me, Cowboy Jed! Come on down to the Mario Kart Emporium!" before moving on to promoting the game. In one commercial, he simply describes gameplay, using his son Jed Junior to prove its enjoyability. In another, he talks of the game's multi-player modes, showing various footage. He demonstrates karts in a third (released on the game's website), telling status ailments along the way. Nintendo themselves have released some unused clips for the commercials; in these unreleased commercials, Jed Junior would have made continued appearances, and Cowboy Jed himself would be portrayed as more of a cowboy or farmer.