With the hip-hop and video game worlds colliding very often, it only seems right that the two entities help each other out. The next phase in advertising comes in the form of product placement in video games.
Games such as “25 to Life”, “Splinter Cell” and others will have billboards and flyers lodged within the game that advertise different musical artists. The demographic that this will cater to is 18-34 year old males, who consume both music and video games on a regular basis.
Not only that, but artists like Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent have found their ways into the video game world. 50 is close to seeing the release of his own game titled “Bulletproof” which will allow multiple ad opportunities within the games wide open layout.
“MTV, BET, Hot 97 and all the rest by definition have limited space for me to get one of my artists some love,” says one industry executive, “plus I have no idea if that BDS spin on Monday afternoon hit my key demo. I like the idea of advertising in the games because I know kids will be paying attention to my poster or listening to my tracks. Especially if in ’25 to Life’ you are running from the cops and my billboard is the landmark for the safehouse.“
