It is difficult to say where the history of advertising games began. It is said that the first attempt was made by the Polo brand, which released a game of the same name back in 1978. It is not entirely clear why, but the idea was abandoned before the work was completed.
Perhaps the first advertising game should be called Tapper, an arcade game under the Budweiser brand in 1983. The gamer was required to perform tasks of a bartender, serve beer, collect empty glasses. The popularity of the game reached such a peak that it began to be offered separately and was adapted for many platforms.
Also worth mentioning is the Barclaycard Water Slide area code philippines mobile Extreme, which is still in demand. It was released in 2009 as part of a Barclaycard bank advertising campaign.
At first glance, this may seem strange. In fact, the authors’ idea is quite unusual. It was based on a video of an office worker sliding down a pipe and making payments while the 1976 song Let Your Love Flow plays. The marketers were tasked with showing how easy and fast it is to make purchases with contactless bank cards. This video was followed by a large-scale campaign, including the video game itself.
The trend was picked up by the Pritt brand, which mainly produces adhesives, tapes and other household accessories, and the approach was, in general, quite original.
Knutselwereld's style has something in common with Amanita Design, which also has experience working on advertising games. The Nike Lab website offers Rocketman, in which scientists design new sneakers with the help of NBA star Vince Carter.
Speaking of failures, it is worth mentioning the creation of the Square Enix team - the game Hire Hitman, released with the purpose of promoting the console project Hitman Absolution. The idea is to "order" some friend.
As a result, the game was blocked just a few hours after its release. However, the biggest disappointment was the game Mojo Master. In it, you had to seduce a lot of animated girls, using them as a kind of training apparatus. The game became part of the Axe deodorant campaign. There is no practical benefit from the acquired skills, so it is unclear what the authors were trying to achieve and what they wanted to say.
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Frequently asked questions about ad games
The effectiveness of advertising games is due to the fact that with their help you can make a brand well-known and frequently mentioned.
Are ad games profitable?
No doubt about it. In 2006, Burger King teamed up with Microsoft to create the Xbox game Sneak King, which sold 2,000,000 copies. Its plot (a gamer attacks hungry people and feeds them burgers) seems ridiculous now, but back then, the interest was huge.
What shouldn't you do?
Rely on an experienced developer to handle all the tasks. Only you know your target audience well. That's why it's important to take control of everything.
What to expect from the ad games industry?
In principle, as with any game, the active implementation of VR and AR. Let's take the game The Hard Way from KFC. In it, the gamer's mission is to save the world, which requires cooking fried chicken.
Thus, advertising video games are those aimed at promoting a specific brand or product. Their essence lies in the inclusion of a brand and/or product in the game process. Mo