The New New Media?
By L. Russell Allen - Oct 15th, 2008 at 9:55 amIt’s conventional wisdom that the Internet is one of the best ways for candidates to reach out to younger voters. The kids love their MySpaces and Facebooks.
But Barack Obama isn’t just limiting himself to advertising online. He’s advertising in-game. Check out this screen shot from the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 racing game Burnout Paradise:
You know, it wasn’t so long ago that politicians were complaining that video games were rotting the minds of our youth. Now? Politicians are paying good money to be a part of the action and reach an audience of mostly young voters who may not be tapped by TV.
(h/t Gigaom)
That’s all fine and dandy, but it still won’t get gamers out of their basements/living rooms on voting day. These people need to be convinced to get out and vote.
October 16th, 2008 at 11:52 amAt this point I don’t even think it’s about trying to gain the gamer vote as much as it is about branding and name recognition. The fact that he’s inserted himself into this virtual reality is pretty cool. While true that (some) politicians complain about the detrimental aspects of obsession with and addiction to video games, most the rational ones would see that it is but another demographic to be targeted. The military has been aware of this for some time.
October 16th, 2008 at 1:47 pmHey I resemble that remark!
As a gamer who’s seen some of these ads, I have to say that I WILL go out and vote come November. Not all of us are poopsockers.
October 16th, 2008 at 2:02 pm