Advertisers: Game On
Games have been, for the most part, ad free – fantasy environments where you could play and escape without addressing the media and a marketing blitz. And by the sounds of it, that’s all going to change.
Currently, my kids are exposed to marketing largely through TV and advergaming – Postopia and Nick.com with and endless march of simple games based around their latest products. At least that marketing is blatant. As a mom, I can remind them of the short lifespan of most toys that are heavily advertised.
IN GAME advertising is different tho. It’s likely to be awkward at the beginning, with in game billboards and such. But give them a few years, and it will be ubiquitous.
For our part, I’m going to use this as an invitation to a dialogue. We’ll start playing ’spot the ad’ games (points for the carefully hidden logo spots!) We’ll definitely talk about what ‘brands’ are, and how companies wrap themselves in mantras and passions “Just do it!” Poor kids are likely to hear the story of the Converse High Top, and will have to articulate what ‘cool’ means before Santa buys that latest and greatest ‘cool’ thing.
Why all the torture? To be ‘in the game’ and not just on the sidelines….
