Study Finds In-Game Ads Work 32
A study conducted by Nielsen and Activision has concluded that in-game advertising works on the traditional gamer demographic. From the eToyChest article: "The study was conducted among 1350 active male gamers ages 13 to 44. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of nine test or control cells. Respondents who were assigned to four game test cells, featuring the games MTX Motortrax, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Need For Speed Underground 2 and NHL 2K6, were then exposed to brands and products at various levels of integration and pervasiveness within each game. Participants assigned to two game control cells played the same games without any products integrated or placed in the game. According the study, it confirms earlier findings that product integration helps to drive awareness and recall, but also uncovers a new variable, pervasiveness, which contributes to driving brand awareness as well."
Product Placement vs. Blatant Ads (Score:5, Insightful)
By immersing the ads into the gameplay, rather than flashing an advertisement on the side of the screen, the ads simply become part of the atmosphere rather than a punch-the-monkey level annoyance.
I'd still prefer fewer advertisements in things I'm already paying for -- commercials in movie theaters, previews on DVDs, etc. -- but integrated ads aren't nearly as bad as some of the alternatives.
Re:Product Placement vs. Blatant Ads (Score:2)
It might factor into whether or not something you make is seen as "art" 100 years from now or just schlocky mass-produced crap. Would the Mona Lisa be as famous if you could see a "Mario's Pizza!" sign out the window?
Re:Product Placement vs. Blatant Ads (Score:4, Funny)
Gee, that was easy.
Re:Product Placement vs. Blatant Ads (Score:2)
For instance, Andy Warhol's Campbell'sSoup Cans [warholprints.com] are considered by many to be among the greatest pieces of 20th-century art.
Re:Product Placement vs. Blatant Ads (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Product Placement vs. Blatant Ads (Score:2)
The main difference is that the patron was generally a wealthy individual whose face was used as a model, rather than a business whose logo would appear within the setting.
So I guess the answer is "yes."
Re:Product Placement vs. Blatant Ads (Score:2)
Re:Product Placement vs. Blatant Ads (Score:3, Interesting)
Actually, I don't remember those at all. I guess product placement works better on you than it does on me. Thank god.
Hey... (Score:2)
If I may add... (Score:2)
I knew it, he's a script [dack.com]! *kicks himself for not knowing earlier*
Whoa, stop the presses. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
Of course. (Score:2)
What advertising doesn't work on males ages 13 to 44? Success of advertising to that demographic is a big reason why it's such a target demographic.
Ads are ads (Score:2, Insightful)
Studies show... (Score:2)
How did they determine they were effective? (Score:2)
Now, I couldnt have been more than.. well, I barely know how old I am now, so let's make up the age "six" and pretend I just mean to say "quite young".
I was shown a few
genre specific... (Score:4, Insightful)
Examples of blatant ads? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Examples of blatant ads? (Score:1)
Decoder ring (Score:3, Funny)
D-R-I-N-K M-O-R-E O-V-A-L-T-I-N-E
Bastards.
When was the last time a Coke bought you? (Score:2)
One of the reasons I didn't like F.E.A.R.... (Score:3, Insightful)
For $55, there should be a way to turn off in-game ads. I mean, for the love of God, $55 is already ridiculous.
(Admittedly, I also thought it was a crappy game for many other reasons...in-game ads was just one of the nits further down the list).
Re:One of the reasons I didn't like F.E.A.R.... (Score:1)
F.E.A.R.'s computer screens all had either generic "logon"-type screens, or BSODs. While the first roomful
Ads in Tony Hawk's (Score:4, Insightful)
These games are hardly suited for judging people's acceptance of in-game ads. If I'm playing Tony Hawk's, I obviously expect them to wear clothes from real brands, and have brand-name skateboards. Likewise, I expect real cars and real tuning brands in games like Need for Speed, and I'm not bothered by billboards in sports games because there are billboards in real sport events, too.
That does not mean that I want to see a coke sign or a Nike ad in a game which is based on a fictional universe.
Re:Ads in Tony Hawk's (Score:1)
They work because they are new. (Score:5, Insightful)
You, Americans, were brought up in the world of commercials. I lived through fall of "communism" in Poland, and back then there was almost no commercials. And completely no TV commercials. When the first ones showed up on TV, it was all the craze. Everyone was buying the cockroach killer stickers, even if you had no cockroaches, just because it was on TV. Kids were crazy about the Kuku-Ruku candy bar, even if there were many better, tastier, cheaper ones in trade. But this one was in TV commercials. TV commercials were new and cool.
Then they got boring and started to really piss people off. Just to the degree they do now.
I admit it (Score:3, Funny)
Very trustworthy sources!! (Score:1)
Don't work on me, quite the opposite in fact (Score:1)