Anti-drunk driving ads coming to XBOX 360 games

Now here’s a more responsible and tech-savvy government, Yahoo! News reports that the Scottish government will be targeting gamers with ads against drinking and driving via games on the XBOX 360.

The 10,000 pound ($20,000) trial project will see the ads appear on virtual billboards within several games for Microsoft Xbox consoles, including “Need for Speed: Carbon,” “Project Gotham Racing 4” and “NBA Live.“

Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson said the number of road accidents was rising, and innovative approaches were needed to reach young people. The government estimates that 73 percent of Britain’s 15- to 24-year-olds have access to a gaming console at home.

“The technology is non-intrusive, subtle, but the message can be seen in the background, loud and clear,” Stevenson said.

Officials said that if the trial was successful it could be expanded to include other road-safety messages.

I have seen few in-game advertisements before, probably because I was too focused on getting the perfect gear-shift, *heh* nonetheless I’d say that this is tax payers’ money being put to good use. Much like those anti-smoking graphics being printed on cigarette packaging, the drive for safer roads is of equal importance.

An interesting bit to notice though, is that why is the Scottish government targeting XBOX 360 games? What about the other consoles like the Nintendo Wii and Sony’s PlayStation 3? Ah but the “[Scottish] government estimates that 73 percent of Britain’s 15- to 24-year-olds have access to a gaming console at home” and since it targeted the XBOX 360 games, the majority of that 73% are XBOX consoles. LOL

Will this government campaign negatively affect the XBOX sales in the UK? Would this ads also appear in the other consoles? Would this campaign itself be effective? Much remains to be seen.

Now why can’t the Philippine government do something hi-tech and useful for a change? *sighs*

Tagged as: Advertising, Gaming, Health, PlayStation, Sony, XBOX