Take It Face To Face

In case you haven’t noticed, things get pretty crazy over here at FaceTime.  Today is no exception.  Rather than talking about marketing and advertising, I’m going to turn up the Pandora and write today’s blog about one of my favorite things in the world:  video games.

Nintendo Wii, look out.  As of today there is no release date, but Microsoft debuted it’s most recent development, Project Natal, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) held June 2-4 in Los Angeles.  Project Natal is an add-on to the XBOX 360 entertainment system, where you control the system without a controller.

Natal’s demo (video above) shows its wide range of uses for Microsoft’s expanding target segment, as its “the only experience you need, is life experience” tagline implies.  And people have been giving it the attention it deserves.  While at the E3 conference, everybody from Minnesota Timberwolve-to-be Wayne Ellington, to “Hairspray” actress Brittany Snow, came out to give it a try.  With rave reviews.

The Project Natal train is showing no signs of stopping, as its  YouTube clips are gaining views by the thousands, and publications such as Time, the LA Times, and USA Today have all taken notice.  Microsoft’s Creative Director Kudo Tsunosa even gave Natal a trial run on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, along with guests John Krasinski and Stephen Moyer.

XBOX fans everywhere get ready for the next step in your gaming experience.  Parents, prepare your wallets as this little treat will undoubtedly make its way on to your kids’ wish lists.  At least they’re being more active when they play it?  Right?

Do you play video games?  Is the controller-free technology of Project Natal something you might be interested in?  Are you looking forward to the weekend?

Dwight leaves the office to work at Staples , the crew at Dunder Mifflin celebrates Christmas at the Asian Hooters (Benihana) Vince is given a Maserati then goes to Koi and pays for both with his Black Card, Hank Moody loves his old Porsche, and Michael can’t rest on the bench without his Gatorade.

These are just a few examples of product placement that I am regularly exposed to while watching some of my favorite shows (The Office, Entourage, Californiacation, Chicago Bulls NBA basketball) on TV, and barely even notice it.

And that is exactly what marketers are going for. Companies and brands combine to spend over $1.5 billion on product placement (the US alone makes up 68% of the global market) trying to reach consumers in their comfort zone to create a subtle association between characters on their favorite shows and the brand/product.

Movies have long been used as a channel to reach consumers, and 2007 release Disturbia is no different. In a clip lasting barely over a minute, Shia LeBeouf’s character plays Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter on his Xbox 360, and then listens to music on both his iTunes and iPod.

Ubisoft, Microsoft, and Apple are the companies behind these products and were able to masterfully position their products in the film. They have essentially created a minute-long commercial using a member of the target audience without the “buy me” and aggressive feel of traditional advertising.

While movies were the past of product placement, video games are likely to be the new battleground for brands. Games like Call of Duty and Halo have millions of loyal followers worldwide that play those same games thousands of times. The background in games such as these are likely to be sold as advertising space before too long. Racing games have already done so, whether it be street racing or NASCAR.

While some methods of marketing are often questioned and scrutinized, I believe product placement is not only fair, but awesome. Every time I watch Entourage, I want to eat dinner at a fancy restaurant, and seeing Shia LeBeouf playing Ghost Recon on the big screen makes me feel a little better about playing it, and that’s fine by me.

Have you ever seen a product/store/restaurant in a TV show or movie and wanted to purchase it? Do any of your favorite shows consistently have brand/products placed in them?

As many of you might know I live in the District. While we don’t have great sports teams, and we typically have oppressing summers and fridge winters, one thing we do have is politics; and lots of it. I typically stay away from talking about politics because I am a firm believer that your political views are your own and I shouldn’t think mine are better than yours.

One thing I do love talking politics about is advertising. I love telling my friends about the unique laws that come into play when political speech is on the line. The long and short of it is this; when it comes to political speech you can pretty much say anything you want and the law protects you.

All of that aside I love political ads. They often cross boundaries that normal ads legally can not and that makes them really fun. On to the point of this post:

Love him or hate him, I am not here to talk about politics, one thing you have to admit is that Barack Obama is using new media and alternate channels to try and move his base. Being an avid gamer, and following in game advertisements closely, and I was pleased to see Sen. Obama advertising in one of my favorite games, Burnout: Paradise City, instead of just bashing video games like most politicians. While I have the PS3 version and this ad appears in the 360 version it is great none the less.

As games and networks begin to blend we will see a convergence of gaming and advertising World of Warcraft, Playstation: Home are just a couple of examples how games are getting ads in front of a demographic with time and disposable income.

Have you seen any other in game advertisements that you think are interesting? Let me know I would love to see some more examples.