Just when you thought there was one place you could get away from politics, suddenly they're in your video games too. U.S. President Barack Obama will be featured in advertisements across multiple EA games on different platforms, the most popular of which being in Madden NFL ‘13. You'll also see the ads in mobile game classics like Battleship, Tetris and Scrabble and casual games on Pogo.com.
Why reach out through video games, you ask? The answer is that there is an untapped resource of voters in young people, as was seen in the 2008 U.S presidential election. This is of course who EA and the Obama administration are targeting in these ads. Of particular interest to them are young people in states where the opposition is fierce or the voters are undecided like Virginia, Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio and New Hampshire.
While you won't be seeing the opposing nominee for President Mitt Romney in these ads just yet, EA says that the offer is open to him as well.
"EA accepts advertising in our games from credible political candidates, similar to a TV, radio or online channel," the EA rep. told GamePolitics. "The ads do not reflect any political policy for EA."
What do you think of political advertisements in games? They've already invaded nearly every aspect of Americans’ lives, even showing up on Youtube videos. Do you think it's a good idea for politicians? Might it persuade you to vote?