A study at the University of Texas at Austin suggested that in-game advertisements in violent video games lead to lower brand recall and negative brand attitudes. In particular, women responded negatively to ad placements in violent video games.
"Although violent video games are very popular and can reach a young, highly engaged audience, their effectiveness as an advertising medium is questionable," said Jorge Peña, assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies. "Our study demonstrates that featured violence diminishes brand memory and primes more negative attitudes toward the brand."
Part of the study involved similar games, though one was blood drenched and with enemies shooting at you, while the other had an environment that was water-soaked where the AI characters did not have guns. Brand recall, recognition, and attitude were much lower for participants who navigated violent video games compared to those who navigated the non-violent video games; the difference for women could be attributed to lack of familiarity with these games or less desensitization to game violence, according to the study.
The study believes that violent content diverts attention from other information sources in a game. Also, it is believed that there is a subconscious link between violence and negative attitudes, not unlike how violent TV programs hamper ad recall compared to nonviolent TV programs, as suggested in results in other studies.
"Advertising campaign planners would do better to spend their budget on ads embedded in nonviolent video games than in ads placed within violent video games; particularly if they are trying to reach women," said College of Communication researcher Seung-Chul Yoo, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Advertising.
