Remember those silly ads in Madden 2009? You do? Good. You’re now a statistic. IGA Worldwide -- a huge in-game advertising agency -- recently uploaded a video on YouTube (via VG247) that is positively jammed with statistics that publishers will undoubtedly use as fuel to put more McDonalds billboards in your favorite games.
There are two big claims in the video. The first is that “90 percent of gamers recalled brands they had been exposed to through in-game ads.” The second claim -- and perhaps the most unsettling one of the bunch -- is that “36 percent of gamers bought or requested information on a product after seeing an in-game ad.” Uh oh.
I look forward to the day when I boot up Street Fighter V and choose to fight with the free version of Blanka, who just so happens to be wearing a pair of Nike shoes in an arena sponsored by Lucas Oil. Oh wait, nevermind -- “86 percent of gamers feel contextual ads fit the games.” Scratch that scary dream.
[image via Flickr]
| BBcode help |
| [b]Bold text[/b] |
Bold text |
| [i]Italic text[/i] |
Italic text |
| [url]http://www.dtoid.com/[/url] |
http://www.dtoid.com |
| [url=http://www.dtoid.com/]Web link[/url] |
Web link |
|
| [img]http://www.example.com/robot.jpg[/img] |
 |
Post a comment! You can also post a photo below:
Comment with Facebook
Click connect and comment instantly!
|
Comment with Dtoid
New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds
|
25 comments | showing # 1 to 25
|
Comment with Facebook
Click connect and comment instantly!
|
Comment with Dtoid
New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds
|
Comments policy
Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?
Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!
Contest:
3:00 PM on 04.18.2009 | 
To be honest, I feel like a consumer whore, but I love them. It adds a bit of realism to the game I feel. I can snicker at the funny fake ads in Bioshock, but if some of them were real products from that time period, I'd smile.
some companies can do it very well, without that whoring feeling attached to it but most don't and won't. they should all look at mgs4 as the model of how to do it right.
once again, the right way of doing it.
If they are done cleverly and creatively, without being getting in the way, I have no problem with them. The real danger is when they become so entrenched in games, like they have in tv, film and music, that they could potentially damage or get in the way of the product itself.
there's an even greater way of doing it by having the ads being relevant to the game. why is an arby's billboard even in burnout? will my character eat arby's after pulling up to the drive-through to order? its a cash in. if i'm playing a game and see billboards advertizing food and i get hungry, i go to the fridge before i choose to waste gas for unhealthy food.
"realism" to the game. Whenever I see an in-game ad, I just think about being exploited, because I'm not getting anything from the ad. The next step is going to be commercial breaks on loading screens -- or intro videos that are un-skippable.
And if it didn't work Arby's wouldn't pay them to do that.
Was there not a recent study that showed that if theres one thing we hated more than obvious advertising, it was realising advertising had been stealthily applied??
Also, bullshit on the stats. I know they probably can defend them, but theres no way more than a third of people requested information because of ingame advertising. Thats a huge success rate.
In-game advertising is simply the new sweetheart on the block, a lot of companies will see it as a new platform to get name recognision and maybe a audiance that was hard to reach before this.
The statistics aren't really stating anything. But even if it isn't effective it wouldn't matter. TV commercials are unbelievably ineffective if you start looking at percentages and people are still lining up for them. Although the numbers I look at are European and I don't know if America has a different enough culture to make the numbers change.
In a related note, I read that Domino's is thinking about a digital ordering system. "So you could be playing WoW and with two clicks your pizza would be on its way."
Good on the unmentioned-brands featured in the game for allowing their product name to be sullied in such a manner, even if I dislike their products and would never buy from either company.