“I remember reading a Stephen King novel a few years back, and getting to a point where one of the characters in the book grabbed a coke to quench his thirst. There was no reason to mention a brand name in the story – it didn’t add to the plot, it didn’t make the story seem more realistic, and it felt like the novelist only included the brand name of the soft drink because he may have been paid to do so. I have no idea whether or not that’s actually the case, but it really lessened my appreciation of the novel.” said Bill Slawski, on Google Measuring Impressions of In-Game Advertising.
Two weeks ago, my classmates Aaron and Megat tapped on the of in-game advertising.
In-game advertising (IGA) refers to the use of computer and video games as a medium in which to deliver advertising. In 2005, spending on in-game advertising was US $56 million, and this figure is estimated to grow to $1.0 billion by 2014 according to Massive Incorporated.
We took quite a bit of time to get to the online game that they wanted us to try but we got there anyway. It was a game called Autobot Stronghold on www.y8.com. Well at first, it looked like a typical warfare game that boys play.
But after attempting it for a few minutes, I started noticing that throughout the game, its sponsor, LG’s logos are shown during the game.
Autobot Stronghold was a game designed to advertise LG’s brand new plasma television, hoping that while people play the game they will spot the LG logos.
During the start of the game, it showed a video for the LG plasma television and the sound system.
The LG logo always appears at the top left and on the buildings in the game as well. The train that passes by at the top, promotes the benefits of the new LG plasma television while players enjoy the game.
While playing the game, players can choose to upgrade their machines (as seen in the pink and blue bars on the bottom left). They can upgrade its speed, response, range and damage level. However, that is not really the main point. The main point about upgrading is that each upgrade is a feature of the LG television. For example, speed is the 200Hx TruMotion of the television and range is how energy-saving it is.
Other games also do in-game advertising. Below are some of the examples:
There are a number of advertisers that do provide the opportunity to present ads during gameplay, and even an Obama for President billboard was seen last year in an XBox game.
I personally believe it is pretty effective especially for games like Second Life and Sims. Advertisements and product placements are very often seen in these two games. It makes more sense to put them in games like these as they are mimicking reality. For example, billboards by the roads, electronic banners on buildings, brands on items that their character wishes to purchase. It makes the game more realistic. Unlike showing brands out of nowhere with absolutely no relation at all, I feel it works better for virtual world games.
(FIFA soccer’s banners at the perimeter of the field are also mimicking real-life soccer games at stadiums as well.)
What do you think? Are you annoyed by the advertisements or product placements shown during games? Or are you fine with them appearing like the examples above?
