In-game advertising

Static in-game advertising

Early examples of in-game advertising were static. Some of these consisted of virtual billboards, whereas others could be considered in-game product placement. These adverts were placed directly into the game by artists or programmers and could not be changed later. Examples include the sponsorship of the Zool series by Chupa Chups, leading to various displays of the Chupa Chups product and brand in the game, including a series of levels set in a Sweet world. Another early example of in-game advertising can be seen in the FIFA International Soccer series, with commercial billboard adverts featured in-game since 1994.

Static adverts allow the advertiser and developers to have more influence on how the adverts are displayed in-game and can be worked to beyond the levels of a pure billboard. In Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory for example, a large glowing advert for AXE deodorant appears hard coded in the game, forming an obstacle to the player character. Not only did it allow the developers to experiment with dramatic lighting effects, it also drew the players' attention by providing them with a challenge in which to overcome.

Dynamic in-game advertising

Increasing Internet connectivity has led to the growth of dynamic in-game advertising. Unlike the fixed adverts found in static in-game ads, dynamic adverts can be altered remotely by the advertising agency. Adverts can be tailored according to geographical location or time of day, allowing for the delivery of time-critical advertising campaigns, such as those publicizing a movie launch. Information can be sent back from the player's machine regarding advert performance; data such as time spent looking at adverts, type of advert and viewing angle may be used to better formulate future campaigns and also allows the advertising agency to offer more flexible advertising campaigns to their clients.

THQ also commented on how data collected from in-game advertising had an unexpected benefit as a design tool, "If the character is stuck in front of a brick wall with an ad poster on it, we know that the level might be too hard. We now see the ad-tracking system as a way to find ways to improve on a game's design". Because dynamic advertising campaigns do not have to be hard-coded into the game by artists and programmers, the need for advertisers to formulate and insert campaigns months in advance of a games launch is negated.

Examples of dynamic in-game advertising include the 2005 computer game SWAT 4 by Irrational Games. Version 1.1 of the game featured dynamic in-game adverts delivered by Massive Incorporated, these adverts were used to publicise forthcoming television shows targeted at a US audience. These time and location sensitive adverts would not have been effective if delivered through a static in-game advertising campaign.

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