Playing for votes

For those too busy playing video games to watch presidential ads on television, Barack Obama has a solution. He's become the first presidential candidate to buy ad space inside a game.

Eighteen video games, including the extremely popular Guitar Hero and Madden 09, will feature in-game ads from the Obama campaign in the final weeks before the election. The ads - appearing on billboards and other signage - remind players that early voting has begun and plug a campaign Web site that encourages people to register for early voting.

Obama campaign officials say the video game ads target 10 states that allow early voting, including several battleground states: Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Colorado.

"These ads will help us expand the reach of VoteforChange.com, so that more people can use this easy tool to find their early vote location and make sure their voice is heard," says Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro. The campaign did not say how much it cost to launch the ad blitz on gamers.

The idea of embedding advertising temporarily inside a video game is relatively new, having only begun about 18 months ago, and Obama is the first presidential candidate to buy space, according to Holly Rockwood, a spokeswoman for Electronic Arts Inc, whose company is featuring the Obama ads in nine of its games.

The Democrat's ads are aimed primarily at game players who like sports, including NASCAR, the NBA, the NHL and skateboarding. That means EA Sports' motto, "It's in the game," now applies to presidential politics as well.

Rockwood would not say how much the ads cost, but she says they are running on the Xbox Live versions of the game through November 3. They began earlier this month.

The timing of the Obama ads within the video game varies from state to state. Players in smaller states may see the Obama ads for almost an entire month, while users in bigger states may see them for a shorter period.

"It reaches an audience that is typically hard to reach young males, roughly 18 to 34," says Rockwood. "That's very appealing to our advertisers."

Rockwood declined to say how much revenue the company generates from selling ad space in its games. The company has struck past ad deals with Ford Motor Co and Puma.

For those who still associate video games with clunky Pac-Man or Space Invaders' consoles, here's how in-game advertising works: The Xbox 360 console connects to the Internet, so it can be updated with new features, including ads.

Agencies

(China Daily 10/20/2008 page11)