Advergames are video games that incorporate marketing for a franchise or business. They can be effective in raising awareness and increasing website traffic. They can be above the line (ATL) or below the line (BTL) and may feature products directly or indirectly. Advergames have become more complex with the advent of the internet, but they can also be criticized for targeting children and influencing their viewpoints. Proponents argue that users have free choice, while critics suggest they target uninformed decision makers.
An advergame is a video game that incorporates marketing for a franchise or business into the game itself. Advergames have been around almost as long as video games and are considered by many expert analysts to be a very effective way to raise awareness of the product and increase repeat traffic to websites promoting the product. There are a number of ways to incorporate advertising into the vast world of video games, and clever marketing companies have used many different ways to drive interest in products using an advergame.
Some of the earliest advertising games were released as full video games, before the widespread use of the Internet. These games were marketed on consoles, sold for early personal computers, or given out as promotional items or giveaways with purchase. Many characters in the franchise have featured as heroes of the game, hoping to create user identification with the game character and thus the brand. In one of the very popular early advergames, Cool Spot®, the character plays the mascot of 7-Up® soda, a tiny red spot with legs, arms and sunglasses. A game like this, marketed through mass media, is known as “above the line” or ATL, advergame.
A below the line, or BTL, advergame is a little more subtle in its approach to product placement. These games may not feature products or ideas directly, but may include them in the background or underlying message of the game. For example, many sports video games feature stadium walls or billboards with actual advertisements on them, such as for clothing or soft drinks. Just like movies allow you to showcase products for a fee, games can sell advertising space to other companies for money.
Another type of advergame that uses the same strategy aims to push the user to delve into the lifestyle of the characters depicted. This type of advergame may come under heavy criticism as a means of influencing gamers, particularly children and adolescents, into certain viewpoints. Some suggest that many military-based games are intended as a recruiting tool for the military, and many are criticized as oversimplified or glamorous advertising for military enlistment.
Since the advent of the Internet, the world of advergames has become even more fascinating and complex. Many advergames are offered as small, clickable ads on websites that will lead the user to another website when clicked on. Others offer the promise of rewards and prizes if the user plays and wins an online advergame. Many people find these games misleading and annoying, particularly because they use distracting graphics or sudden pop-up screens.
The advergame is the result of the advertising world’s brilliant response to the world of computer games. As a marketing tool, modern advergames can attract a wide range of web users to investigate the product, idea or company on offer. Proponents of advergames point out that users have free choice, they don’t have to give out personal information if they don’t want to, and they can close the website or the game at a time of their choosing. Critics, on the other hand, suggest that advergames target uninformed decision makers such as children, who may be tricked into providing personal information that endangers privacy.
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