Changing billboards put new cars in gamers’ sights
Your sleek, shiny car screeches through a turn in the popular Need for Speed: Carbon video game and there in front of you is a gigantic Pontiac billboard.
Two months later, you round the corner again and see yet another ad, pointing out the features of a different car. This one surprises you: The model it is advertising did not exist when you bought the video game.
Advertising and product placement have been common in video games for years, and the auto companies have helped to lead the way, buying ads inside of games and producing games themselves that are interactive ads for their cars. (USA TODAY)