As our primary focus for the week is advertising, I would like to focus on product placement for this post. When thinking of product placements many typically think of television and movie placements, but now advertising is even being found in videogames.
Many of the games that include advertising are EA Sports games such as NCAA or Madden. Much of the advertising appears similar to how it would if you were to attend a professional sports game. They may appear on sidelines or on megatrons. Some examples of advertising include the placement of Coca-cola or ESPN. Currently in the debut trailer for NCAA Football 09, a Coca-cola Zero ad appears when players are calling audibles. This placement is found within the first minute of the trailer.
As well, the game Crazy Taxi which was offered both in arcades and on the Playstation 2 console had very obvious product placement. This game advertised Pizza Hut and other restaurants and chain stores as well as music from the band The Offspring.
While many are skeptical of these types of advertisements, I am not entirely against this type of placement. In fact, more often than not I am entertained by the product and brand placements. Many commonly argue that children should not be overly exposed to advertising, and videogames encourages exposure to children. However, videogames are no longer just for kids, but for teens and consumers in their 20's which is a huge consumer group.
All in all, advertising and marketing groups have become very creative in the placement of products and services. It is extremely smart to target gamers as they tend to spend less time exposed to television advertising and more time in the virtual world.
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1 comment:
As traditional media lose audience share, advertisers have to get more creative. This is a good example.
...consumers in their 20s (not 20's) -- it's plural, not possessive.
10/10
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