For years, every Christmas I have been concerned with finding the best present for my partner. A few years back “Santa” got unambiguously guided to the computer store and directed toward the special offer on a USB-gamepad with a computer game attached to it – or so I thought. Never before had Santa’s bag been raided so keenly at the store exit and to my big disappointment I was advised that it was not the gamepad but the attached GTA III game that had to be there and he was really after. A few days after Christmas the game ended up on my laptop as my partner was still busy with GTA Vice City and I wanted to know what the big fuss was all about. And that was my introduction to the world of computer games.
Thus Ilya Vedrashko's thesis on advertising and merchandising in computer games from MIT was a really interesting article that got me thinking on Grant Theft Auto games that at first glance seem to be full of advertising but there are actually no real brands present at the GTA fictional universe. On the contrary there are some GTA “fake brands” present in the real world.
I would call the marketing of those fictional brands the back-merchandising. The fabulous web sites of in-game top brands such as Cluckin’ Bell – the proud sponsor of Beat the Cock challenge, the web page and hotline of counselor Darius Fontaine, and a working hotline for Crimson Executive Wife Removal (to be used at your own discretion) all serve as the appetizers for the GTA fictional universe. Thus in-game and real life merchandising works both ways.
In fact, Rockstar Games believed in it so much that GTA San Andreas was first advertised through the introduction of a new religion- Epsilon program.
Thus Ilya Vedrashko's thesis on advertising and merchandising in computer games from MIT was a really interesting article that got me thinking on Grant Theft Auto games that at first glance seem to be full of advertising but there are actually no real brands present at the GTA fictional universe. On the contrary there are some GTA “fake brands” present in the real world.
I would call the marketing of those fictional brands the back-merchandising. The fabulous web sites of in-game top brands such as Cluckin’ Bell – the proud sponsor of Beat the Cock challenge, the web page and hotline of counselor Darius Fontaine, and a working hotline for Crimson Executive Wife Removal (to be used at your own discretion) all serve as the appetizers for the GTA fictional universe. Thus in-game and real life merchandising works both ways.
In fact, Rockstar Games believed in it so much that GTA San Andreas was first advertised through the introduction of a new religion- Epsilon program.
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