Nintendo Shifts Its $35-Million Ad Account : Marketing: The video-game giant likes the ‘cool’ look of Foote, Cone & Belding’s commercials for California raisins and Levi’s jeans.

The agency best known for its hipper-than-hip ads for the “dancing” California raisins and Levi’s 501 blues on Thursday won what may be the West Coast’s coolest advertising client of all: Nintendo.

Foote, Cone & Belding/San Francisco was handed the estimated $35-million annual advertising business for the Redmond, Wash.-based American subsidiary of the Japanese manufacturer and marketer of video games. The account was previously handled by the New York office of McCann-Erickson, which, despite Nintendo’s market dominance, was apparently unable to produce the kind of cutting-edge ads that satisfied Nintendo executives.

With projected sales of $4.1 billion in 1990--and a market share of about 80%--Nintendo ranks as the world’s largest video-game maker. FCB will immediately begin to create ads for the Nintendo Entertainment System as well as for the Game Boy product line--including the new video game, “Dr. Mario.”

“We’re looking for more contemporary advertising that reflects our leading edge,” said Don Coyner, manager of advertising at Nintendo of America. “We know that working on Levi’s advertising has taught the agency a lot about kids and teen-agers.”

The new ads--which are still expected to keep the slogan, “Now you’re playing with power,”--will probably premiere in September, Coyner said.

“Nintendo is the hottest company in the hottest category,” said Jack Balousek, president of the Western division of FCB. “This is an agency’s dream.”

The agency--which last year won the Taco Bell account--now posts annual billings of about $400 million.