Originally published December 1 2005
Advertisements to be built into online games
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Shockwave.com, an online game provider, now gives advertisers a way to place their ads inside the games, as opposed to their hovering around the page margins.
Now you can play, but don't expect the virtual escape to guarantee relief from marketers' attempts to get in front of your eyes.
On Monday, online game provider Shockwave.com will begin offering advertisers a way to insert ads within the games themselves.
While it's believed to be the first such invasion in web-based games, it's only one of a growing number of venues advertisers are using to reach its shifting and fleeting audiences.
The traditional pillars of advertising in print and television media have eroded in recent years as people --- especially the elusive demographic of young men --- have instead spent more time on video games and on the internet.
Hence, the ad creep, whether loudly from the walls of sports fields, subtly from the strategic product placements within films, or annoyingly from the pop-up ads all over the internet.
The often addictive genre of action, puzzle, and card games attracted nearly 56 million unique visitors in September, according to comScore Media Metrix, a research firm.
Shockwave.com, a division of San Francisco-based AtomShockwave Corp., wants to capitalize on the growing migration of advertising dollars to the internet.
"There's such a huge demand right now from brand advertisers," said Dave Williams, chief marketing officer of AtomShockwave.
"And this is a huge audience, and an engaged audience."
For instance, in the game called SWITCH Wakeboarding, players will soon see bright yellow Sprint Nextel ads interspersed on ramps as they buzz around the lake doing tricks.
Ad images will generally last from three to seven seconds in action games, and perhaps longer in other games where an ad can be displayed, say, on a hood of car, instead of a passing object, Williams said.
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