Page 1 of 80 Ilya Vedrashko | Advertising in Computer Games | September 2006 GamesBrandsPlay.com

Ilya VedrashkoIlya VedrashkoIlya VedrashkoIlya VedrashkoADVERTISING IN COMPUTER GAMESADVERTISING IN COMPUTER GAMESADVERTISING IN COMPUTER GAMESADVERTISING IN COMPUTER GAMES

Submitted to the Department of Comparative Media Studies in partial fulfillment of therequirements for the degree of Master of Science in Comparative Media Studies at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology.The paper in its electronic version has been reformatted and posted atGamesBrandsPlay.com. The page count has been preserved.The author’s contact information is available at vedrashko.com.

Page 2 of 80 Ilya Vedrashko | Advertising in Computer Games | September 2006 GamesBrandsPlay.com

ADVERTISING IN COMPUTER GAMES

byIlya Vedrashko

Abstract

This paper suggests advertisers should experiment with in-game advertising to gain skillsthat could become vital in the near future. It compiles, arranges and analyzes the existingbody of academic and industry knowledge on advertising and product placement incomputer game environments. The medium’s characteristics are compared to otherchannels’ in terms of their attractiveness to marketers, and the business environment isanalyzed to offer recommendations on the relative advantages of in-game advertising.The paper also contains a brief historical review of in-game advertising, and descriptionsof currently available and emerging advertising formats.

Keywords

Advertising, marketing, branding, product placement, branded entertainment, networks,computer games, video games, virtual worlds.

Thesis supervisors

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Prof. Henry Jenkins

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Prof. William Uricchio

© 2006 Ilya Vedrashko. All rights reserved.The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and distribute publicly paper and electroniccopies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or hereafter created.

Page 3 of 80 Ilya Vedrashko | Advertising in Computer Games | September 2006 GamesBrandsPlay.com

Acknowledgments

This work would not have been possible without:

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MIT C3 Convergence Culture Consortium and its corporate partners GSD&M,MTV Networks, and Turner Broadcasting System that supported the initial probeof the subject.

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Darren Herman at IGA Worldwide, Jonathan Epstein at Double Fusion, and theentire team at Massive Incorporated who were very forthcoming with informationabout their businesses. I owe special thanks to David Sturman at Massive for avery thorough and informative walk-through of the company’s operations.

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Readers of the thesis blog and my friends in the virtual worlds who volunteeredpriceless bits of knowledge and whose insightful comments would often revealunexpected dimensions.

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Sarah Wolozin and Generoso Fierro at the Comparative Media Studiesdepartment at MIT who made sure this thesis would one day happen.

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The Comparative Media Studies department that invited me to MIT and made itfeel like home.

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Prof. Henry Jenkins and Prof. William Uricchio who encouraged and steered thiswork from its early days all the way to the defense.

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Mom and dad who have been rooting for me from day one even though they arestill not quite sure what it is that I do. See? Computer games are good forsomething.Thank you.