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Exploiting the "video game craze": A case study of the tobacco industry's use of video games as a marketing tool.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Video games have grown in popularity since the 1970s, and tobacco imagery is present in a substantial subset of games, including those oriented to youth. Much like exposure to tobacco content in films, exposure to tobacco content in video games may influence smoking uptake and use; however, the tobacco industry's role in facilitating or promoting the use of tobacco imagery in video games is unclear. We explored the industry's interest in and use of video games to market their products to youth and young adults. METHODS:We retrieved and analyzed archival tobacco industry documents. We supplemented information from the documents with current and archived versions of several brand and corporate websites and one website containing user-supplied information on video games. RESULTS:Tobacco companies recognized the youth appeal and marketing potential of video games as early as 1980. Initial marketing ideas included incorporating video game themes into product packaging and design. More fully realized plans focused on incorporating video games into product promotions in bars, as a high visibility way to attract younger patrons and increase long-term marketing opportunities by generating names for tobacco company direct-marketing databases. Tobacco companies also incorporated video games into in-home product promotions, primarily as components of brand websites, in order to enhance brand image and generate repeat website traffic. A similar desire to attract and keep visitors led to discussions about the inclusion of video games on corporate youth smoking prevention websites, although only one company, Lorillard, followed through. CONCLUSIONS:Video game players are an attractive target market for tobacco companies. Video games, as used by these companies, facilitate consumer engagement with particular tobacco brands or particular corporate messages. Eliminating the use of video games as a promotional vehicle may require limiting tobacco marketing in both physical and online environments.

SUBMITTER: McDaniel PA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6657901 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Exploiting the "video game craze": A case study of the tobacco industry's use of video games as a marketing tool.

McDaniel Patricia A PA Forsyth Susan R SR

PloS one 20190725 7

<h4>Background</h4>Video games have grown in popularity since the 1970s, and tobacco imagery is present in a substantial subset of games, including those oriented to youth. Much like exposure to tobacco content in films, exposure to tobacco content in video games may influence smoking uptake and use; however, the tobacco industry's role in facilitating or promoting the use of tobacco imagery in video games is unclear. We explored the industry's interest in and use of video games to market their ...[more]

PMID: 31344096

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Project description:BackgroundMaintaining social relationships is a basic human need and particularly essential in old age, including when living in a retirement home. Multiplayer video games can promote positive social interactions among players from different generations while playing. Yet, such facilitation of positive social interactions depends on specific game design. To systematically investigate the effects of game design on social interaction between seniors and their coplayers, the game Myosotis FoodPlanet was developed in this study, and the impacts of 3 different game modes on social interaction were compared in a controlled field trial.ObjectiveThis study aims to compare the effects of 3 different game modes (competitive, cooperative, and creative) on social interactions (verbal and nonverbal communication) between seniors and their younger coplayers.MethodsThis study was conducted in a Swiss retirement home as a controlled field trial. Participants were residents of the retirement home (N=10; mean age 84.8 years, SD 5.9 years) and played in pairs with their caregivers. Each pair played 3 game modes in random order. This resulted in 30 game sequences of 20 minutes each. A within-subject design was applied with game mode as the within-factor and social interaction as the outcome variable. To assess the quality of social interaction, 30 video-recorded game sequences were analyzed based on an event sampling method.ResultsAnalysis of variance for repeated measurements revealed significant effects: there was significantly more verbal communication in the creative mode than in the cooperative mode (P=.04) with a strong effect size (Cohen f=0.611). An examination of verbal communication revealed more game-related communication in the creative mode than in the cooperative mode (P=.01) and the competitive mode (P=.09) with marginally significant effects and strong effect sizes (Cohen f=0.841). In addition, significantly more biography-related communication occurred in the creative mode than in the cooperative mode (P=.03), with a strong effect size (r=0.707). Regarding nonverbal communication (eg, laughing together), analysis of variance for repeated measurements showed significant differences among the game modes (P=.02) with a strong effect size (Cohen f=0.758). Results showed that there was significantly more laughing together in the competitive mode (competitive>cooperative>creative).ConclusionsThe results show that game mode can be an important factor for shaping the social interactions of players playing together. Compared with other modes, creative game modes can increase verbal communication. In contrast, competitive modes may stimulate more laughing together. This has important implications for game design and the use of computer games to promote social interaction between seniors and their coplayers in practice.

Dataset Information

Exploiting the "video game craze": A case study of the tobacco industry's use of video games as a marketing tool.

Publications

Exploiting the "video game craze": A case study of the tobacco industry's use of video games as a marketing tool.

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