A look at in-game advertising

It used to be that an ad on television would be seen by nearly everyone in a household, but with the emerging popularity of video games, less people are seeing these commercials. Advertisers need to reach their target audience in new ways, and one of these ways is via in-game advertising. By cleverly inserting products and logos into the in-game world, companies can reach a whole new demographic, perhaps even subconsciously. Of course, that is if it's done properly...

As with product placement in television and movies, if done well, I actually like it. It adds more authenticity to the world. I'd rather see a can of Coca-Cola on-screen than a can of "Crazy Cola". There's also brand-name parody (Nuka Cola in the Fallout series, for example), but that's a different story. The point is, if done properly, product placement can increase the believability of a fictional world. If done improperly, though, it just gets annoying.

Two games in my collection stand out most when I think of in-game advertising: Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Far Cry 2. I love both of these games, but I can't deny that the product placement within is a little ridiculous. To start we'll take a look at Most Wanted, which is, in my opinion, the best game so far in the Need for Speed Series.

Infamous among players of Need for Speed: Underground 2 was the Burger King. There was only one, but you were forced to drive by it repeatedly. Just about every race in that part of the city had a stretch of track driving by it, force-fed advertising made even worse if the race had multiple laps. I was relieved to read in an EGM that we could expect "way fewer Burger Kings" in Most Wanted, and I couldn't wait to go out and-


...uh, as I was saying, I cou-


...


...well, they said we could "expect" fewer Burger Kings... We can also expect to win the lottery. Now, to the game's credit, it's not as if Burger King is dominating the city. There are other products and services advertised in-game (Axe body spray, AutoZone, Cingular, and a few other brands), keeping things somewhat in balance. Burger King does seem to be a little more visible than the other brands, but perhaps I just notice it more due to past experience with Underground 2.

In the end, I suppose it isn't too unrealistic. Companies advertise, stores are built, and products are visible, all in places where they should be. Nothing is pushed in your face, and it feels fairly organic. Of course, there's more brand variety in real life, but Electronic Arts couldn't very well get rights to every product on Earth. I'd say Most Wanted is a moderately-good example of how product placement should be implemented in a game. A bit more subtlety and it'd be perfect.

Next up is Far Cry 2, and this time around the brand in question is Jeep. Randomly spawned along with many other generic-looking trucks and cars are two Jeep vehicles: The Liberty and the Wrangler.


I first saw the Wrangler about two or three hours into the game, and I thought it was pretty neat. Eventually, as a bit of a personal joke, I took to driving the Wrangler exclusively, only driving a different model of car between one Wrangler breaking down and finding another (Yeah, I'm a little weird). It's inclusion made sense to me. It's a rugged vehicle, well-suited to the rough terrain of the nameless African country in which the game takes place. Its abundance was a little questionable, considering the country is also ear-deep in a civil war with little or no planes (And thus, car shipments) landing on local soil. Maybe there's a factory hidden somewhere, and I haven't just found it yet. Probably tucked behind a zebra or something.


As for the Jeep Liberty, it's somewhat more scarce... In the first act of the game. Get into that second act and the associated new world map, though, and the place is freaking CRAWLING with them. One town has a Liberty on practically every corner, and every last one is in near-mint condition. The Liberty is also a more expensive and fancy vehicle than the Wrangler, and I doubt the warring factions care much about how plush the seats are when there's bullets and rocket-propelled grenades whizzing by. It doesn't really seem to fit.

Hey man, did you know this Jeep has a 3.8L V6 engine? Yeah, me either.

Remember towards the beginning of the article when I said that, if done properly, product placement could contribute to the realism of the fictional universe? This isn't an example of this. The Jeeps barely make any sense at all in this setting, and makes a big rift in the believability for me. What are the odds that mint-condition, current-model Jeeps would be so prevalent in a war-torn African country with naught but the most flimsy connections to the outside world? It just doesn't fit at all.

It's kind of funny, really. Ubisoft Montreal worked so hard to craft an incredibly realistic world. They succeeded in many ways, with realistic fire-spreading technology, destructible plant life, weapon degradation and truly impressive graphics. Then along came a sponsor... Yes, I understand, bills need to be paid, and sponsorship can help ease production costs, I just find it funny that they put all this effort into realism, then dump a cargo ship full of brand-new Jeeps into a poor, war-ravaged African country of no title. It also doesn't help that all the enemies are about as smart as a flat tire, but that's another article altogether.

I consider Far Cry 2 to be a poor example of effective and believable product placement. The Jeeps are entirely out of place, and ridiculously common in the second part of the game. Perhaps if they were a little rarer and banged-up it would feel more real, but hey, I don't know what kind of exposure Jeep paid for. In fact, I'm just helping further advertise the product by writing this article. You win this round, Jeep!

With developers focusing more and more on realism these days, it's disappointing to see such poor or non-existent examples of product placement in video games. If a game is to be truly realistic, real products must be present in believable locations and quantities. Without this, games will never truly achieve realism in my eyes. You can have your photo-realistic graphics and destructible environments, but the second that flawlessly-animated background character reaches for a Crazy Cola the whole things comes crashing down.

EDIT: Thanks to Kalava for reminding me of Pikmin 2's product placement, a perfect example of how to do in-game advertising right. The game takes place on Earth, and there are Earth brands in places they belong. Tonnes of them, in fact. Duracell, Carmex, 7UP, Vlasic, Skippy, Snapple, Nintendo and more are inserted into the game world. Some may have sales pitch-like names, such as "Quenching Emblem", but that's the case for all the items found in Pikmin 2, as the eventual intention is to sell them on Olimar's home planet.

There really is nothing wrong to be found in Pikmin 2's implementation of product placement. It's perfectly believable, and done in a way that isn't blatantly screaming "BUY THIS PRODUCT". There's also the likely-unintended humour factor that comes from seeing such things in a Nintendo game. No matter how hard I try, I just can't keep from cracking a smile every time my Pikmin dig up something with a real-world logo on it. It's just so out of the ordinary that it becomes funny somehow.

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Info on new ad blocks

As you have probably noticed, there is a new ad box at both the top and bottom of the site. These ads are by the great people at Project Wonderful, who's ads I've always found to be both affective and unobtrusive.

I have added these ads in order to hopefully generate enough income to one day afford an independent domain for the blog. This day may not come for quite some time, but it's never too early to think of the future. These ads were not added in hopes of personal profit, but instead to ensure that this blog can one day become something truly great, with it's own URL, exclusive promotions and more. This was all done in hopes of providing better service to you, the readers.

I promise that ads will never become obtrusive or annoying. No pop-ups, no talking ads, and never any click-through commercials. It annoys me to no end when I see things like this on other websites, and I sure as heck don't want it to happen here. I'd rather lose money than deal with such annoying and distracting advertisements.

Also, I assure you that each pending bid for an ad here on One Duck's Opinion will be researched thoroughly before approval, to avoid any inappropriate content being linked to here on the site.

Thank you for reading One Duck's Opinion. Here's to an even greater blog down the road!

The Duck Has Spoken.

There aren't enough game ads on TV!

I was watching TV today, and I realized something: There are nowhere near enough video game commercials on the air! In the last week, I've mostly seen ads for only two games: Naruto Ninja Revolution and Rayman Raving Rabbids 2. Where are the ads for NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams? How about Zack and Wiki? Sure, Zack and Wiki may not be a recent release, but I never saw a single ad for it outside of a gaming magazine.

The point is, not enough games are being advertised to the general public. The most you get with a title most of the time is an ad in a game magazine and perhaps a viral video or two. What's going to happen to next year's games? Where are No More Heroes and Dragon Quest Swords? Almost no games get advertised on television, with few exceptions.

I also see a lot of ads for games that would have sold really well even if unadvertised. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 would have sold tonnes due to the success and popularity of the first, and Naruto Ninja Revolution would have done great because it's based on the current "it" anime. It seems that the games that most need advertising are the ones that don't get even a second of airtime. Games like Endless Ocean and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn will never sell to the general public without some ads!

I think this may be the core reason that most third-party games don't sell too well. Sure, big titles like the two examples above will sell like made because of their license and/or legacy, but many third-party games don't have a snowball's chance in hell. Nintendo games sell due to the company's popularity, licensed titles sell due to the license, and some games sell due to the reputation of their franchise. But games like Zack & Wiki and NiGHTS just don't have those factors. They aren't the kind of game a person will see on a store shelf and pick up.

I think that more games need to be advertised, particularly those from third-parties who seem oblivious to why their sales are so low. It's the ads, people! Dole out a few dozen grand for an ad campaign, and then you'll see the sales you seek. Make some good ads, and you'll more than make up for the extra expense.

It's a real pity when great games fail to sell due to lack of advertising. I really mean this. Quality titles simply fade away, undiscovered, simply because people haven't heard of them. So come on, third-parties: If you're so confident your game is great, then prove it. Advertise your product.

The Duck Has Spoken.

Hey, Nintendo, where the heck are the ads?

Sorry, would've been longer, but I had to whip up something quick after another idea fell through. I'll try for something more sufficient on Wednesday, I promise!



Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and Battalion Wars 2 are now available at a retailer near you. Unaware? Don't feel left out, not many other people knew, either. And why is this? Lack of advertising! Both these games are sitting on store shelves RIGHT NOW, and we haven't seen so much as an online release of a television commercial! Website ad banners are pretty much as far as it's gone so far. So then, where the heck are the ads?

There's no reason for Battalion Wars 2 and Fire Emblem to be shunned like this. They're both significant games based on successful franchises.

Battalion Wars 2 is based on the incredibly famous and successful Nintendo Wars franchise, which started way back in 1988 with Famicom Wars. Since then it has seen games released on the Super Famicom, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Gamecube and (With Battalion Wars 2) the Wii.

Fire Emblem goes back nearly as far, starting back in 1990 on the Famicom. It has since been seen on the Super Famicom, Game Boy Advance, Gamecube, the Japanese Virtual Console and now the Wii.

These games could hardly be considered insignificant, and they definitely deserve at least one television commercial.

So where are Nintendo's advertising bucks going as of now? Well, look no further than...



...Super Mario Galaxy. Off the top of my head, I can recall hearing about Galaxy ads on websites, Japanese subway trains and even a full-fledged television commercial!

Now, of course we're going to see ads for this. I mean, come on, it's Super-freaking-Mario we're talking about here! But that's no excuse to ignore the slightly less popular titles. Battalion Wars 2 and Fire Emblem have pretty much gotten the advertising boot, so where does that leave upcoming titles such as Disaster: Day of Crisis and Endless Ocean? I fear for their futures...

It seems that if a game doesn't feature a big name like Link, Mario or Samus, it just isn't worth the advertising department's time. Seriously, the Wii Would Like To Play guys don't look too busy! Go grab 'em and pump out some more ads! The Wii can't survive on the big guys alone, you know. After all, variety is the spice of life.

The Duck Has Spoken.

Nintendo: The unconventional advertiser

Well, here we are again! Not much to say here, so let's get bloggin'!



Looking for Brain Age 2 ads? Might as well skip scouring television commercials and internet banners. Brain Age 2 is out there in the open, where all the office workers and CEOs can see it. It's advertised in magazines and buses and trains, all places where your average business-oriented Joe can see them. Heck, I opened up a Reader's Digest about a month or so ago, and what did I find but the following...?





Three Brain Age 2 ads in a row! The first tells you to turn the page, the next says to hurry up, and the third berates you for taking so darn long! A clever advertising style, that's for sure. And it really grabs the reader's attention!

And remember that trip to The Ex I was talking about? Well, on the train ride home, there was another ad for Brain Age 2! This one said "Train rides can be pretty boring, can't they?", albeit all screwed up. Again, an amazing tactic to draw in the attention of passersby.

Nintendo has really nailed advertising to the masses. Sure, the average Joe watches some TV from time to time, but I'm sure Joe spends plenty more time reading and sitting in transit! Seriously, you say "videogame advertising" to some guy on the street, and he'll probably think of internet and TV. Say it to Nintendo, and they'll think "In the public's eye, of course!"!

Also, did you notice that non-blurred portion in the second scan? Now that's some great placement!

Okay, this was kind of a short one, but I've been wanting to write this for a while. Any more would just be filler, really. What weird places have you seen games like Brain Age advertised?

The Duck Has Spoken.

Ubisoft: Masters of marketing

And now for something completely different.



No doubt you've seen them. They're in our magazines, on our computers, in our favorite websites... Rabbids. Every gamer who visits a gaming site even occasionally knows what a Rabbid is. And why is this? Because... Ubisoft is the master of online marketing.

When Ubisoft was creating Rayman Raving Rabbids, they undoubtedly know they were going for something bizarre. But, they thought, how to spread the word to the gamers? The answer: Viral marketing. They started making up pictures and videos, showing the Rabbids doing crazy, stupid, hilarious things, such as trying to milk a cow with a plunger and somehow failing to figure out bathtubs. These videos were an instant hit. People screamed "DAAAAAAAAH!!!!" at the mere mention of the game. And, when the game finally hit shelves that November, it sold like mad. Ubisoft had succeeded.

But, the fans begged for more! More Rabbids, more stupid stunts! Who was Ubisoft to say no? And thusly, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 was born. And yet again, Ubisoft was met with the same question: How to spread the word to the gamers? The answer: More viral marketing! The Rabbids have now invaded Earth, and are running rampant in France, Japan and various other parts of the globe.

One of my favorite new viral Rabbid ads

The response to this new set of crazy antics is almost unanimously positive. Ubisoft has, yet again, pulled off the perfect viral ad campaign. The result? We'll just have to wait until this Winter to see.

The Duck Has Spoken.