'Safer Scotland' places anti-drunk driving ads in 360 games
by Scott Jon Siegel 
{ Dec 24th 2007 at 8:00AM }
Proving that not all in-game advertising is used solely for evil, the Scottish government plans to spend £10,000 on virtual billboards to discourage drunk driving, the BBC reports today. The campaign will place anti-drunk driving messages in Xbox 360 racing games like Need for Speed: Carbon, Project Gotham Racing 4, and sports titles like Pro Evolution Soccer 2008.The Scottish government is elated that the campaign will be going forward, as it believes that video games are a great way of reaching younger audiences. We couldn't agree more, and think that this is one of the smartest uses for ad dollars we've seen in a while. Kudos to the Safer Scotland campaign.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
dave smith @ Dec 24th 2007 8:06AM
I'll agree that this campaign is a clever way to get an important messege out to young drivers; hopefully it will have a positive impact and will help savea couple of lives along the way. That being said, the *last* thing I need is to pay good money for a game and have to endure someone nagging me, even if it is for a good cause.
Grizzly @ Dec 24th 2007 8:14AM
I suppose this is inevitable as games get more mainstream, nice message but I fear games finding excuses to place more ads in them in the future. If game budgets rely on the ad money to finance the game I'm sure it will be bad for gaming. Too many ad men will want what went before and worked.
geiser80 @ Dec 24th 2007 8:21AM
check this other campaign... this is the way a new game makes its entrnce among new players ...:
http://www.btleague.net/info.asp?id=212
Phranctoast @ Dec 24th 2007 8:37AM
I really never had a problem with ads in games, as long as they have their place and immerse you more into the reality of the game rather than ruining it.
An example of a bad one. EA games logos in the Simpsons game.....wtf were they thinking.
An example of a good one.
A pepsi/coke machine in a fps. Not to obtrusive.
eugene @ Dec 24th 2007 9:07AM
so in the Halo RTS coming out, if your little units run over crates of mountain dew for health, good or bad product placement?
Brian @ Dec 24th 2007 9:35AM
I didn't mind the EA logos in The Simpsons Game, because they were there as parodies more than ads (your character goes into the internet and gets attacked by Madden NFL players.)
On the other hand, the Axe Deodorant ads in GH3 made the Burger King placement in Fight Night Round 3 look tasteful.
Good product placement: Fender, Vic Firth, and Guitar Center in Rock Band (and Gibson and Guitar Center in GH2)
Bad product placement: Axe Deodorant in GH3
ScreamingSkull @ Dec 24th 2007 9:27AM
Not mountain dew, "Dew War fuel: Spartan Class". Gotta keep it in context right?
timnc @ Dec 24th 2007 9:43AM
@Brian
But dude! You got to have The King as a trainer! How lame is that?
Cherry May @ Dec 24th 2007 11:40AM
The best product placement I've seen in a videogame, was the original Quake with the Nine Inch Nails for the nailgun, with the NIN logo on all the ammo pickups.
I swear, even though it was pretty darned blatant and everywhere throughout the whole game, most of the people I've spoken to about Quake completely forgot all about it.
I've even had to point it out directly to some people with screenshots and the such, and they're still all like "No, it's just a coincidence that the nails are nine inches long...", or "That last N is only backwards because they mirrored the texture...."
It's either marketing genius, or a benchmark for stupidity amongst gamers. I'm hoping the former!
B1gC72 @ Dec 24th 2007 9:11AM
cool. its nice to see advertisers using their ads for a good cause rather that just to fill their pockets. great message for the kids, i just wonder how many will notice it sitting there, you know, other than subconsciously.
Evan @ Dec 24th 2007 9:11AM
Talk about missing the target audience... the Scottish government needs to reach people who go out to bars, not the people who stay in their homes playing video games.
Jonny @ Dec 25th 2007 9:51AM
I disagree. I'm a pretty big gamer but I have a social life too...and remember this is aimed at Scotland. We like to party :P.
timnc @ Dec 24th 2007 9:44AM
I had to + that.
Even if the folks that are home playing video games and drinking.... are they really going to leave? Pizza delivers.
Naboo @ Dec 24th 2007 11:50AM
Take this scenario: a group of guys between playing PES (or any game for that matter) and pre-drinking before a night out. This tends to be commonplace among the majority of young Scottish males. Casual gaming as a precursor to extended drinking. It's a social thing, a way to start the night off. I'm an 18 year old male living in Edinburgh - the scenario mentioned above is exactly what myself and 7 other guys were up to only last week.
This is one of the few initiatives which, in my eyes, has the potential to be highly effective. It's good that the Government is experimenting with new mediums in trying to relay their message.
Ronan @ Dec 24th 2007 10:09AM
OMG!! a first for Scotland! Im so happy :D
WMain00 @ Dec 24th 2007 10:12AM
*waves Scotland flag*
Nice to see Joystiq report on this; Scotland for the win! A good idea from the Scottish Government and is thankfully a far more mature idea than the usual "OMG GAMEZ ARE EVIL!" that other governments choose to go for.
Mike @ Dec 24th 2007 12:33PM
sigh.. I remember the days when playing a game was just PLAYING A GAME. Not being advertised to and certainly not preached to. I'm about done with TV and I'm starting to think gaming is next to go.
Cherry May @ Dec 24th 2007 3:24PM
I can't ever remember a time when there wasn't advertising in games... whether it was Chupa Chups in Zool, McDonalds in MCKids, the 7Up Cool Spot, or even 'Nagatanien', the Japanese food company that was all advertised all over Kaettekita Mario Bros, it's always been around.
Even Superfrog got his powers from Lucozade, not to mention G.I.Ant in Push Over trying to rescue packets of Quavers... advertising doesn't magically remove the fun from the game! A good game is a good game, and a bad game is a bad game regardless of what's being advertised in it.
Rob Accomando @ Dec 24th 2007 2:28PM
Next: Messages in FPS that say "Do not shoot real people"
cragis @ Dec 25th 2007 6:01PM
Living in Scotland its natural, theres drink & drug awareness campaigns every christmas or any occasion in bars, billboards, clubs, cinemas, public transport & TV so why not in games which feature Scottish landmarks as there no more out of the ordinery as an IRN BRU advert
cragis @ Dec 25th 2007 6:56PM
what im trying tae say is a drink & drug awarness campaign has the same relativness in a video game Edinburgh in Gotham as it would the real Edinburgh as the Gotham version tries tae reacreat Edinburgh so why not it personality & that includes it awarness.