Raleigh NC| Obama Becomes First Politician To Use Video Games As Marketing Tool
Barack Targets Young Males Using Xbox Live
Barack Obama is all about change, that’s no secret, but who would have thought that he could possibly change the way that politicians contact one of the hardest demographics to reach? Obama has decided to use video games to advertise to young males, 18-34. Advertisements in this medium are nothing new. Nearly every game makes you want to drink a Coke or eat a Whopper, but never has a video game made you want to vote for a politician.
It all started on October 6th when Microsoft’s Xbox 360 added downloadable content to 18 of their games, including million copy sellers Madden 09 and Guitar Hero 3. The Xbox is able to connect to the internet through its online service, Xbox Live, and download updates. In this case, it’s in-game advertisements. Also, because Microsoft is able to tell where Xbox users live, they are able to send regionally targeted ads to each individual. However, most of the ads basically consist of a picture of Obama’s face and the address to his website, www.voteforchange.com.
This particular campaign is only available in 10 states (including North Carolina), nine of which were red (republican) states in the 2004 election, and will last until the day before the election, November 3rd. All of these states allow early voting and Obama spokesman, Nick Shapiro, said, “These ads will help us expand the reach of VoteforChange.com, so that more people can use this easy tool to find their early vote location and make sure their voice is heard.”
Whether you are Republican or Democrat, you have to admire this latest idea. It’s estimated that this campaign will reach over 4 million voters over the course of one month, not to mention the publicity Obama is gaining from launching this campaign! That is an incredible amount of exposure no matter who you are. Also, he’s targeting states that are typically republican, which makes this an even more interesting experiment. If Obama wins a few of these states, will it be attributed to this last minute campaign? Only time will tell, but this is still a great campaign. Obama has stayed true to his quest of capturing the youth vote, and this is just one more step in accomplishing that goal.
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