Those of us who watch television or go to the movies are well aware of that annoying little practice called Product Placement. Television shows like American Idol are well-known for their voluminous amounts of product placement - you can't get through one hour without seeing judges drinking from giant Coke glasses, having Ryan Seacrest implore viewers to text their votes via AT&T and watching the contestants perform in their very own singing-and-dancing Ford commercials. Even my beloved Burn Notice has seen its share of product placement, although thankfully, creator Matt Nix and the BN writers incorporate the products into the show in a much more organic manner (for example, who doesn't love watching Michael Westen, Sam Axe, Fiona Glenanne or Jesse Porter tear through Miami in a gleaming black convertible Saab or bright blue Hyundai?). Television shows and feature films utilize product placement to help offset their budgets while advertisers engage in the practice to solidify their brands.

Product placement is spreading into the gaming business with in-game advertising (IGA). Microsoft's in-game advertising company, Massive (which it closed a few months ago), found that in-game advertising not only increased brand awareness but also raised the consumers' purchasing intent and "triggered users to more readily engage with sponsored media." The practice has been going on for a while now and it appears that gamers are growing weary of (or immune to) seeing the same old form of in-game advertising. After so many spottings of a company logo on a billboard in the middle of a racing game or of a banner flying in the sky over a cityscape, you begin to ignore the message. So, companies are being forced to think outside of the box when they attempt to institute an in-game advertising plan. How are they doing this? Through social network gaming, of course!

Social networking is inching its way into every part of our lives so it makes sense that in-game advertising would turn to this stalwart form of consumer connectivity. For example, Lauren Fisher writes in Advertising that McDonald's, rather than resorting to the same old in-game banners, collaborated with social networking game creator Zynga to produce a branded farm in FarmVille for one day. During this 24-hour period, McDonald's gave players of FarmVille a chance to grow mustard seeds and tomato crops and were then rewarded with branded products that would help the gamers' farms grow. McDonald's branding lasted only one day but it was available to every FarmVille player - that's nearly 70 million players worldwide! Talk about exposure! The branding annoyed some purist players but, in McDonald's defense, the company had a pretty good strategy - it didn't reward gamers with tokens for in-kind products that had to be redeemed at their local McDonald's restaurants. Instead, the company kept the focus strictly on the game, opting to brand virtual goods.

Farmers Insurance also recently participated in some unusual in-game advertising through FarmVille by floating the company's airship across every gamer's farm. Marc Zeitlin, VP of eBusiness for the insurance company, said that this was a chance for the conservative company to "show that they were in touch with their clients, had an amazing internal culture, and cared a great deal about their customers." Zeitlin also realized that, despite FarmVille being one of the most popular social networking games on the Web, it was also played predominantly by stay-at-home moms, who are always the key decision makers when it comes to buying insurance. Finally, Farmers understands that social gaming is a major growing trend and they don't want to be left out in the cold.

So, it appears as if in-game advertising is here to stay. The recent IAB Digital Media Case Study Road Show highlighted the different integration types of in-game advertising now available, including downloadable content, "advergames," brand-subsidized access to games, dynamic product placement and micro-sites such as Xbox LIVE's Branded Destination Experiences. In addition, experts caution that in-game implementations must be organic and feel authentic to gamers (advertisers must "integrate, don't intrude"). In-game ads must be correctly targeted and advertisers should continue interaction with the brand outside of the game, so the gamer's virtual and physicals worlds meld. Finally, advertisers must resist the temptation to utilize ads that have been created for print or television campaigns; these ads do not work when placed into digital worlds. Creating ads specifically for the digital platform is important for the correct exposure of the brand. And, while some gamers may balk and whine about this sort of in-game advertising, there is an upside for players...they can play their social networking games for free.

The growing popularity of social gaming is the catalyst that many major advertisers have been waiting for. As Lauren Fisher wrote, "it's no longer about getting in front of each gamer separately, but reaching the online communities of each user in new and powerful ways." With 70 million social gamers - and counting - social game advertising is much more effective than the standard old product placement or in-game advertising that we've become used to. It's possible that, soon, the fruits you're growing will turn into Jamba Juices or the tomatoes into pasta sauce for DiGiorno frozen pizza. And, if you can do this without reaching into your pocket, what's the harm?

Readers, would you mind this kind of in-game advertising, especially since it allows you to play your social networking games for free? Or, would you prefer to pay and keep your games ad-free?