In response to the surging popularity of free Web mini-games and the declining attention paid to banner ads, online marketing strategists are encouraging clients to bankroll playable product promotions and advertisements called advergames.
The slickest of these interactive commercials incorporate "assets" of a product or a brand name in the title and action of a 3-D mini-game that's sufficiently entertaining to bring players back for return visits.
Among the dozen or so advergames produced thus far, two of the most notable uses are Dodge Speedway, featured at Microsoft's gaming site (www.zone.com); and War Games: Virtual Warfare, based on a TBS Superstation TV show, available at a dedicated site (www.wargames3d.com) and at the site of WildTangent, the game's creator (www.wildtangent.com).
Due by mid-April is A Knight's Tale, a WildTangent-produced promo of the Columbia Pictures medieval combat movie opening May 11, at several sites (including www.aknightstale.com). And Nike's Shox Dunk game, starring a recognizable animated replica of Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors, debuts online May 1 at the Nike site (www.nike.com).
WildTangent created War Games: Virtual Warfare to promote the two-hour "War Games" television show broadcast Feb. 28 on TBS. The show was a trial balloon, a pilot for a potential series about reality-based combat scenarios.
Players of the game can attack entrenched enemy forces, capture a chemical weapons storage facility, or defend a strategic airfield, using authentic military equipment such as the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle, M1-A2 Abrams tank, and Apache helicopter.
A Knight's Tale is the first game of many projects that WildTangent has in the works for Sony Pictures Entertainment, which owns Columbia Pictures. The PG-13 movie stars Heath Ledger as a combatant on the jousting tournament circuit.
In the game, you play a knight. After choosing his strategy, customizing his armor, swords and shields, you challenge a friend to compete by e-mail. Both e-mails are visualized as virtual knights at the game's Arena Web site, where they battle in real-time 3-D combat. As your knight wins battles, you collect gold that can be exchanged for upgraded equipment.
Online marketing research and consulting firm kpe recently issued the most comprehensive analysis of the growing trend -- readable and downloadable at www.kpe.com/white(underscore)papers/fastforward.pdf -- pegged to the premise that "Gaming is more than one of the most popular actitivies on the Web -- it is also an extraordinarily powerful tool for delivering branding and advertising messages."
One of the most effective advergames was Real Pool, commissioned by Jack Daniel Distillery to commemorate its 150th anniversary in September. Designed by The Groove Alliance for Shockwave.com to target males 21 to 34, the beautiful 3-D game splashed the bourbon maker's name all over a pool room setting where "you could almost smell the whiskey," says Matthew Ringel, co-author of the kpe report.
Since the game's objective was creating brand awareness, rather than incorporating the product as an element of game play, Real Pool has not been adversely affected by the subsequent decision by Jack Daniel to remove its in-game ads. In fact, Real Pool is currently getting 3 million hits a month at the site (www.shockwave.com).
Nike has spent between $75,000 to $200,000 -- the going rate for a state-of-the-art mini-advergame -- on its upcoming 3-D slam-dunk game.
