Product Placement in Video Games

klaun writes: "Yahoo has a Reuters article about product placement in games. Seems that paid placements are no longer that popular because they don't work. The audience is to sensitive to advertisement being 'crammed down their throat.' Wonder what slashdot thinks of product placement." I actually like ads in games, whether they're spoofs or real, so long as they fit the context of the game.

Comments

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II

[Apreche]

and Pizza Hut. I still have the instruction book with the coupon on it. I challenge anyone to find a video game with advertisements in it older than that. I'm not sure if the ads worked then or not, but it was a wildly popular game.

I agree with the realism...

[alexhmit01]

Did any of you play games on 15 years ago? Going to Pizza Hut instead of "the pizza place" does help you relate to the game more. It makes it easier to relate to the character.

My partner found the article at work the other day, it was interesting. Before he even mentioned the part about promotions my first thought was promotional deals.

Sure Dole isn't paying for the US rights, but why should Sega spend money removing it. The Dole stuff was amusing and SO over-the-top it didn't even seem like a game, it was funny. I couldn't stop laughing about the Dole stuff everywhere.

I don't buy bananas on brand, so it's irrelevant, but if they were launching a luxury version, it makes sense to do promotional deals.

Alex

Product placement

[Have Blue]

Product placement is usually accepted where it doesn't interfere with the product in which it is placed. James Bond driving a BMW is fine, and might even boost BMW's image. The camera focusing on the BMW logo on James' car is not.

So, for example, if there were going to be cans of soda int he game anyway, like in Deus Ex, there shouldn't be any objection to putting a real-world brand name on them.

yum

[Avatar 888]

i have to say i've been really rather impressed recently by the adverts in gta3... they really do help to build up that living city feel. and the radio ads blatently rock.

though i think the best use of product placement in a game has to go to wipeout 2097 and its use of red bull... that just fitted so perfectly to me... am i right in saying that was done with no cash changing hands too?


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like a slice of toast gaffer taped to a cat

PetsOverNight.com

[HiredMan]

The radio stations in Grand Theft Auto III really help make the game and the ads really help make the radio stations work. They add to the "texture" of the game and give the game makers the ability to make subtle (and funny) commentaries on society.

The wierd thing is that MOST of the ads are fake... but some of the personal promotions stuff (Game Radio) are real or are they... the bleed over between the fake ads and reality adds another dimension to the game.

This article also shows that if you ignore ads THEY WILL STOP. If you don't like ads complain and specifically do not buy those products.

=tkk

It can work

[IowaBoy]

Well I for one am an example of successful product placement in a videogame. Back when WipeoutXL for the original PlayStation first came out, on several of the tracks (and I think on the intro movies) I kept seeing "billboard" ads for something called Red Bull. (By then, of course, Red Bull was well established in Europe, and WipeoutXL was produced by Sony's U.K. unit, Psygnosis). So when I saw it in the store, I bought one just to see what it was. And I still drink the occassional bottle. So it can work.

Sigue Sigue Sputnik and unusual advertising media

[Cybrex]

Tracking the effectiveness of advertising in normal media (print, outdoor, broadcast, etc.) is a well-established science. For novel media like video games and the like I don't see how they can collect enough measurable data to reliably dismiss the media as a profitable advertising venue.

As an example, in 1986 electronic punk band Sigue Sigue Sputnik decided to sell advertising on their album 'Flaunt It'. Yes, there are actually commercials between some of the songs!

It was a bold and brash move, but well executed. The ads and products (Studio Line hair gel, i-D Magazine, etc.) fit in well with the overall style of the album, and there were some fake ads as well that were humorous and flowed well with the album.

It's easy to measure how many copies were sold (bootlegging aside), but how do you measure the actual number of effective exposures per album, or the time frame? Personally, to this day I still use exclusively Studio Line, and I'm not ashamed to admit that it's because they had the balls to advertise on one of my favorite albums. No doubt I'm an outlier, but how do you quantify the success of a single advertisement that's still moving product >16 years after it ran?

As another example, my first exposure to Red Bull was while playing Wipeout XL on the Playstation, almost 2 years before I ever saw the product on store shelves. I freaked when I realized that it was a real drink, and immediately picked some up (good stuff!). Again, it's hard to measure the longevity of new advertising forms.

-Cybrex