When In-Game Ads Go Bad

via Next Generation


We’ve all heard by now what goes into making in-game ad placement successful: contextual content, relevance to gamers, seamless integration and added value. In-game ad firms commonly cite case studies in which gamers embrace in-game ads as long as their placement “makes sense.” But what happens when those ads just don’t fit?

Back in 2006, I worked with the former Disney executive director of Internet marketing to attempt to gauge player perceptions of advertising in a popular MMORPG. We conducted an experiment with 100 participants aged 18-24, with the test group playing the game with real in-game advertising and the control group playing a version of the game with fake ads. Participants in each group played for 30 minutes and responded to a questionnaire following the game session.

The game in question, which is set several thousand years in the future, featured virtual billboards and video ads for several real brands, including a fast-food company, an athletic apparel brand, and a hairstyling product line. Interestingly, none of the advertisers made an effort to update their brands to match the game’s futuristic tone… so how did the players take it all in?

Playing the Numbers Game

We looked for statistically significant differences between the test group and control group, as well as distinctions between subsets of participants, such as avid gamers vs. non-gamers and males vs. females. After the game session, those in the group who saw in-game ads agreed more with ad-negative statements, such as “advertising should never be present in games,” and less with ad-positive statements, such as “advertising in videogames makes the games seem more realistic and immersive.”

Looking at differences between genders, more females disagreed with the statement that "advertising in games is annoying or obtrusive" than males. In fact, more females believed that in-game advertising makes games seem more realistic and immersive than did male participants.

Analysis also revealed key differences in reactions between non-gamers (those who reported playing videogames zero hours per week) and avid gamers (those who reported playing games 10+ hours per week). Non-gamers agreed less with the statement "ads should never be present in videogames," and more with the statement "advertising in videogames makes the games seem realistic."

Avid gamers agreed more that in-game advertising is acceptable when the products advertised are fictional. On the contrary, non-gamers agreed more that in-game advertising is acceptable when the products advertised actually exist. Could it be that (gasp!) hardcore gamers are truly more jaded when encountering any kind of advertising in their digital entertainment? Our signs pointed to “yes.”