Advergaming, as described by Bogost, is the use of videogames to advertise a product, organization, or viewpoint. It began to be commonly used around the year 2000 and has now become nearly as commonly used as television and internet advertising. It has even come so far that many analysts have divided it into three different categories.
Above the Line Advergaming refers to a form of advergaming in which a company utilizes interactive games on its website in order to lure potential consumers to browse through a website and become familiar with a line of product. These games are usually reworked arcade classics or simple game designs to be used for adobe flash or similar multimedia software. Companies known to use this category of advergaming are Chef Boyardee, Samsung, and Coca-Cola with games such as Chex Quest and The Dino hunters.
Below the Line Advergaming is the most common form of video game advertising in which companies make advertisements within a videogame or publish a videogame which would cause the player to further investigate the material. One very recent example is the Burger King game. The game came free with the purchase of certain meals at Burger King and then the game was based off of Burger King food and its mascot. This specific example of advergaming has been controversial since it used food to engage its players in creating an appetite and could eventually lead to an unhealthy lifestyle.
The last category, Through the Line Advergaming, is a rare form of game advertising. It is the use of hyperlinks in or around games used to wheel in players to look into the information about a company and/or its product line. Some games using this method sneakily insert these hyperlinks within the game sometimes as a prize for defeating certain levels or in order to proceed to the next level.
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