The Obama political ad in Burnout Paradise.

OCT. 13, 2008 • The Obama presidential campaign is so flush with fund raising cash that ads for the candidate turned up in Xbox 360 versions of Burnout Paradise, Madden NFL 09, NASCAR 09., Need for Speed Carbon, NHL 09, and other EA titles. The ads were part of a targeted 10-battleground state buy running between Oct. 6 and Nov. 3. No reason was given why PS3 versions of the games did not get the Obama spots, although ad sales for that platform are managed by a separate third-party vendor. EA said the McCain campaign was also offered access to Xbox 360 in-game advertising, but declined.

Impact: We doubt the Obama video game ads were the key swing factor for the election.  However, they do indicate how video game systems have become a legitimate platform for short-term, timely ad campaigns.  Prior to online connectivity and the rise of specialty video game advertising companies like Double Fusion, IGA and Massive (owned by Microsoft), this type of ad placement would not have bee feasible.  We expect the newsworthy nature of the Obama ads could cause other potential advertisers to take a more detailed look at the possibility of the video game platform.