So I recently came across this advergame from Mates condoms

Now I’m a big advocate of in-game marketing, but this is just a poor example.

2 Cardinal rules of in-game

1) Gamers and games come in many shapes and sizes – You have to match the game type to the gamer.
2) Whatever style of game you create it has to be well made and fun

This breaks both of those rules.

1) The audience for this brand of condoms must be 18-25 year old blokes. 18-25 year old blokes have grown up with some incredible console and PC games that have really raised the bar. They are less than impressed with a re-skinned half-arsed platform game. Online casual games such as this are best left for 40 year old women who haven’t been spoilt by Call of Duty and Mario Galaxy. If you want to develop a casual game for this audience you need to ensure that you bring them a new idea that they haven’t seen before.

2) Running round an office jumping up and catching 50 condoms in a 5 minute time limit just isn’t fun. it takes too long, there is no reward and it isn’t particularly challenging. This is clearly a game that has been designed around a client brief rather than trying to understand what consumers want

And finally – sex based games are just not cool. There hasn’t never been a mainstream game that has utilised sex based themes that has been perceived as something that young guys want to play. If anything it just highlights to them the fact that they can’t get laid in real life!

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