Immersive Advertising -- How it Works and Why it Works

[bgryph]

Well, yes. Of course immersive advertising works, and probably better than normal advertising does. It's important to remember why Neopets exists. Neopets doesn't exist so that we can fun. Neopets exists to sell advertising. That is the alpha, the omega, the be-all and the end-all of its existance. All those pets, petpets, contests, games, items, plots... all of them exist strictly so that Neopets can sell ads. If the ads weren't working, people would stop buying advertising, and there would be no Neopets.

Note that this is also true of TV, newpapers, and most magazines (except for the few that do not accept advertising). The copy is really only there to provide something people want to read so that they can put ads in. So Neopets is hardly alone in this regard.

And yes, the advertising affects you. It affects me. It affects every single person who plays the site, whether or not they realize it or are willing to admit it. If advertising weren't effective, no one would bother with it.

That said, unless you plan to forgo TV, newspapers, magazines, surfing the Web, driving your car (those billboards, you know) etc. etc. advertising is rather difficult to avoid.

Interestingly, I have the opposite take you do... I'm always surprised that sponsor games pay so LITTLE. I usually play each one once (I already have the top gamer avatar, but I still like seeing my score count go up) and then forget it exists.

[Kneazle]

If you will search for "immersive advertising" you will find Neopets on the first spots. However, as long as Hanna don't drink coca cola in the plots, I realy don't care.

[Skynetmain]

I know I promised not to get invovled again, but bgryph reminded me of the perfect quote for this situation:

Leela: "Didn't you have ads in the 20th century?"
Fry: "Well sure, but not in our dreams! Only on tv and radio...and in magazines...and movies. And at ball games, on buses, and milk cartons, and t-shirts, and bananas, and written on the sky. But not in dreams! No sirree."

Enjoy. I now remove myself again from this argument.

[ArwenEarendil]

It has been brought up before, but I suppose I'll mention it again.

Chinese New Year and Cinco de Mayo.

As far as I know, these two days are culturally linked, not religiously linked.

Granted, sometimes religion follows culture, but remember. SOMETIMES.

I mean, I never see anything religious linked to chinese new year - and i'm chinese.

And Cinco de Mayo? All I see is a bunch of people celebrating their freedom.

The celebrations of freedom and a new year? Nothing but culture. No religion at all.

[Wind]

I do avoid things on the Neopets site. I boycott the Advent Calendar because I am Jewish and I consider advent, the lead up to the birth of Jesus, a Christian religious festival.

I think that the church would not approve of the Advent Calendar, because it encourages the materialistic side of Xmas again the spiritual side (and there's no churches in Neopia).
But don't take my word for it, I'm atheist myself.

And about sponsor games, well, I don't think that can be considered so much advertisement. There isn't even a trophy for them, and they're pretty much similar.
I find the banner ads much more annoying, personally.

[Daze]

The McDonald's restaurant and their gym game were and are particularly egregious because McDonalds and other fast food restaurants have been implicated in child hood obesity. Their food, or at least the popular items on their menu, are fat laden and tastey and if you supersize it you get the best value. The McDonalds on Neopets is the only one in the universe that does not serve burgers and fries. It is trying to convince the world that McDonalds fare is healthy and that they are on the side of the angels.

Do you even research anything before making such statements?

Every Mcdonalds page either has a banner or game which shows a burger and fries and you CAN buy them in shops. So I do not see your point.

Here are some of the items you can buy, proof that Mcdonalds and Neopets are not trying to cover up or censor anything:

Dollar Menu McValue Fries
Dollar Menu Double Cheeseburger
Dollar Menu Soft Drink
McDonalds Cheeseburger
McDonalds Happy Meal

As for trying to convince us, well ..... most people know that ANY fast food is unhealthy when eaten to excess.

I would be more worried about the sugar-laden cereals being produced. They definately have no nutrional value, and I would NEVER give my children anything as highly processed as Lucky Charms or Cheerios.

Remember Mcdonald's does great things outside of the Neopets fold.

I myself we be forever greatful of all the charity donated to Children's Funds by Mcdonalds. My son was seriously ill as a baby and needed to go to hospital, and it was a Ronald McDonald house (situated on hospital grounds) that I stayed in free of charge for a week while my son had an operation.

You criticised Mcdonalds for their gym game, but don't give them credit for at least trying to combat inactivity amongst children. They have taken to heart concerns of their fatty foods and now offer salads, yogurts, cereals and low sugar/low fat alternatives.

For every bad thing you suggest, there is a positive - you only have to open your mind to the possibility that there is good in everyone and not see only the bad.

[theonlysaneone]

I think we're all missing the key point here: People wouldn't buy from McDonalds if it didn't taste good. I can't think of many things things tastier than McDonalds fries. (I liked them better when they were cooked in animal fat.) Sure, they're not healthy, but they taste good. Immersive advertisements don't force you to eat at Mickey D's. Free will people. As for parents of kids who feel compelled to eat at McDonalds, act like parents and tell them no. However, there's no harm in eating junk food occasionally. You won't get cancer from the occasional burger.