Advertisers are desperate to do something to reach the fleeting 18-34 year old male I-used-to-watch-television-but-now-I-play-video-games audience. According to last year’s Nielsen ratings there was a drop of 8% in primetime television viewing by this category. That’s a problem since there’s not a lot of room for advertising in current video games.
Enter America’s Army (www.americasarmy.com). A full-fledge video game created last year by the US Army and available free for anyone with an internet connection and the minimum system requirements. The US Army says about the game: “The Army's game is an entertaining way for young adults to explore the Army and its adventures and opportunities as a virtual Soldier. As such, it is part of the Army's communications strategy designed to leverage the power of the Internet as a portal through which young adults can get a first hand look at what it is like to be a Soldier.”
At the surface, it’s a well-made war game released completely free to the masses (which is great considering a game like this would run about $50). But the game is more than just a freebie. It’s super popular. It was ranked among the top 5 online PC games this past year. It has 3,854,000 registered users. 2,266,000 of those users have completed the basic training portion of the game you must do before you’re allowed to play the cool multiplayer missions. That’s right, over 2.26 million people have gone through sim-basic training for the Army. And they think they’re just playing.
Coincidentally, just one week after I downloaded the game I received Army informational brochures in the mail and a call from a recruiter.
www.americasarmy.com
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