The Effectiveness of Product Placement in Video Games

ABSTRACT

Previous studies suggest that the presentation of an advertisement largely determines how well consumers receive the message. Video games have many elements that make them ideal platforms for advertisements. For this study, participants played a video game that featured branded products, then took an implicit associations test to determine whether they had more positive attitudes toward the brands in the game than toward a set of equivalently rated brands. All three hypotheses are supported by the results. Participants categorize in-game brands as “good” significantly faster than they categorize them as “bad.” Participants also categorize in-game brands as good significantly faster than they categorize out-of-game brands as good. Finally, they take significantly longer to categorize the in-game brands as bad than they take to categorize the out-of-game brands as bad.

Additional information

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Zachary Glass (B.A. Pomona College) graduated with a major in psychology and a minor in media studies. His research interests include interactive advertising and the psychology of advertising. He currently works for Arnold Worldwide in Washington, DC.