- 1 week ago
Not all in-game advertising is bad, but these examples certainly are. We're looking at the top 10 most overbearing and misplaced product placements that completely took players out of the experience, featuring games like Death Stranding, Fight Night, and Burnout Paradise.
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00:00Not all advertising in video games is bad.
00:02If it's subtle or it fits with the game's world, then it can sometimes help immersion.
00:06However, there have been plenty of heavy-handed and totally overbearing examples
00:10that made players feel uncomfortable.
00:12After all, nobody wants to drop their paycheck on entertainment
00:15and then wind up being advertised to non-stop.
00:18I'm Cy for WhatCulture.com and these are the 10 most embarrassing product placements in video games.
00:24Number 10, Death Stranding advertises while you poop.
00:27Oh, that Hideo Kojima, what will he think of next?
00:30During his time directing Metal Gear Solid, there was always an interesting discussion to be had
00:33about what Kojima would do if totally taken off the leash.
00:37Sure, MGS had some completely outlandish moments,
00:39but Konami seemed to be the one with the stamp of final approval.
00:42So when Death Stranding finally released, his first work as an independent creator,
00:47we could finally see what Kojima was capable of.
00:49And it was bodily functions. Oh, good.
00:53Not only can you pee in Death Stranding, but you actually need to,
00:56or protagonist Sam Bridges, portrayed by Norman Reedus, will get visibly uncomfortable.
01:00Additionally, you can also go for number two in a certain room of the game,
01:03which then presents a supremely weird advertisement.
01:06As the glass door closes, players are treated to an advert for AMC's Ride with Norman Reedus.
01:11There are so many questions about this.
01:13If this is a secret facility, who is this commercial even for?
01:17But perhaps more pressing, AMC and Kojima Productions apparently organised a contract for advertisement
01:22and presumably agreed to place it around when Sam Bridges drops Trowl.
01:26Either way, it didn't work.
01:28The season four ride with Norman Reedus following the release of Death Stranding
01:31had lower viewing figures than ever,
01:33presumably because a AAA game just crapped on it.
01:36Eh? Eh?
01:36Number nine, Fight Night Round 3 swears loyalty to the king.
01:41Sports, by their very nature, are advertising heavy.
01:44As such, you should expect to see familiar brand names in video game adaptations of them.
01:48After all, it would actually be a little immersion-breaking if they weren't there.
01:51Boxing is no exception, and as such, Fight Night Round 3 contains nods to the usual affair
01:56of Under Armour and Everlast sporting goods.
01:59However, there are also a few more interesting choices like Dodge
02:01and big banners for Burger King, of all things.
02:04But that's not remotely where it ends.
02:07See, like many games of its ilk, Fight Night has unlockable fighters,
02:10but it also has an unlockable trainer who can follow you to the ring
02:12and give you advice between rounds.
02:14And that man?
02:15The king himself.
02:17No, not Elvis.
02:18The Burger King.
02:19What makes this so weird is that there is literally nothing else like this in the game,
02:23or really in the series.
02:25The original Fight Night had miniature fighters and big head modes,
02:28but, as cute as they are, they're a far cry from the absolute mind-bending weirdness
02:32of seeing the terrifying grin of Mr. Whopper himself trundling down to the ring.
02:37There was also a Burger King challenge to unlock him,
02:39which just stunk of a lazy paid-off promotion that had been crowbarred into the game.
02:44Number 8.
02:44James Pond 2's Favourite Chocolate.
02:47A quaint and often forgotten platforming mascot of the early 90s,
02:51James Pond excelled in UK markets.
02:53For one thing, its developers, Millennium Interactive, were British,
02:56but it also had a bit of a silly British sense of humour to boot.
03:00To that point, James Pond 2 Robocod actually have some screens in it
03:03that are unique to the UK release,
03:05specifically because they are product replacements for a chocolate bar
03:08that is not necessarily sold all around the world.
03:11In the UK version of the game,
03:12players are treated to an endearing opening cutscene
03:14that reintroduces Pond himself,
03:16as well as a panicky group of penguins
03:18who are under threat from the returning villain, Doctor Maybe.
03:21Suddenly, for absolutely no reason at all,
03:23they all strike a pose in front of candy wrappers
03:25and the logo for the chocolate bar Penguin appears above them,
03:29along with a guarantee that it's one of the chocolatiest biscuits in the world.
03:32Pond goes through a variety of zany locations in the game,
03:35with the first hour being dedicated to a lot of confectionery.
03:38Ignoring the enemy that looks like a legally distinct version
03:41of the Bertie Bassett's logo,
03:42there's an entire stage where the player navigates a world
03:45made of unwrapped penguin bars.
03:47Quite literally, floor-to-wall advertising for the chocolates.
03:49Number 7. EA Games Gets Political
03:52As previously mentioned,
03:54advertising in video games is okay if it's done right and if it fits,
03:57not just on sporting kits,
03:59but also on the billboards you might fly by in racing games.
04:02It's an established part of our real world
04:04that needs to be reflected in any decent digital representation of it.
04:08However, President Obama's face gawking at you is not exactly subtle.
04:12As part of his attempts to gain and retain political office,
04:15Barack Obama and his team struck a deal with Electronic Arts
04:18to include advertising for his campaigns in their games.
04:21It was a clear attempt to reach a demographic
04:23that got their entertainment from video games rather than TV.
04:26Gamers largely weren't particularly happy with this.
04:29Regardless of one's personal politics,
04:30it can be generally agreed that it was a gaudy move.
04:33Whilst it's completely fine for some games
04:34to have a political message in their story,
04:37seeing the real-life faces of smiling politicians
04:39that were campaigning for office
04:40was a hell of a way to detract from a medium
04:42that often serves as a distraction from the stresses of the real world.
04:46Then again, Obama won both of his presidential campaigns,
04:48so maybe it did connect with otherwise ambivalent EA players.
04:52Number 6, EverQuest 2's Pizza Delivery Command.
04:55The original EverQuest is seen as an important milestone
04:57in the MMORPG genre,
04:59but its sequel unfortunately didn't keep up the momentum.
05:02With World of Warcraft releasing around the same time
05:05and going on to scoop up the vast majority of MMO players,
05:08EverQuest's publishers had to find new ways to stand out.
05:11Starting in 2005, the game began a relationship with Pizza Hut.
05:15It almost seems like a gag command,
05:16but EverQuest's players could type forward slash pizza
05:19to pull off a browser window to place an order for dinner
05:21whilst continuing their grind towards the game's level cap.
05:24Wow, what a feat of engineering.
05:26It's not like players couldn't simply alt-tab out of the window
05:28and go to the Pizza Hut website themselves.
05:31Firstly, it speaks down to players,
05:32but more than that, it almost seems to reinforce the stereotype
05:35of the slothful gamer who can't fend for themselves or take a break.
05:38That being said, as apparently seamless as this idea was,
05:42you'd still have to actually get up to answer the door
05:44to receive this mystical pizza.
05:46The whole thing seems not only forced,
05:48not sure what fast food has to do with medieval fantasy,
05:51but so supremely lazy.
05:53If you're going to commit to ridiculous synergy between brands,
05:56then at least go all-in.
05:57Number five, Fantasy Star Portable 2 is finger-lickin' weird.
06:01Okay, wait, maybe not this kind of all-in.
06:04Sega's Fantasy Star series was the company's answer
06:06to the blossoming success of the Dragon Quest games.
06:09Starting off as classic turn-based RPGs,
06:11around the Dreamcast era,
06:12it morphed into one of the earliest examples of console MMOs.
06:16And whilst the series has always had a certain sense of humour,
06:18it's Fantasy Star Portable 2,
06:20which went flying headfirst into the wacky end of the pool.
06:23Who cares about ordering a pizza through a video game
06:26when you could adorn yourself with it?
06:28In Japan, the game had a crossover event
06:29with yum brands who own Pizza Hut,
06:32and thus players could kit themselves up
06:34with an actual set of pizza weapons,
06:36a cardboard box shield and some kind of bludgeoning device
06:38that is essentially a pizza on a serving board.
06:41It didn't end there, however,
06:42as the event was actually a tie-in
06:43for the 40th anniversary of KFC opening in Japan.
06:47As such, Colonel Sanders appears in his full glory
06:49as a summonable assist for battle.
06:52Forget your overpowered weapons and abilities,
06:53I have a roundhouse-kicking chicken master.
06:56KFC is massive in Japan,
06:57noticeably being a bit of a Christmas tradition,
06:59but this might be a step in the direction of
07:01I can't possibly take this game seriously now.
07:04Number 4, Alan Wake's Energizer issues.
07:07Alan Wake's 2021 remaster famously removed
07:10the product placement that the game originally had,
07:12which largely was met with positivity
07:13as players at the time had gotten a little sick
07:16of constantly seeing Verizon billboards.
07:18But whilst they were oftentimes in your face,
07:20at least the product placements
07:21weren't totally out of left field
07:23like many of the previous examples on this list.
07:26In particular, Alan's reliance on his flashlight
07:28made for a logical opportunity
07:29to partner with Energizer.
07:31Except you sort of have to wonder
07:32how Energizer felt about this upon release,
07:34because it didn't exactly paint their products
07:36in a positive light,
07:37no pun intended.
07:38The simple most important aspect you'll look for
07:41when buying batteries is longevity.
07:43However, a big part of Alan Wake's gameplay
07:45is using the flashlight to lead you forwards
07:47and to expose and stun enemies
07:48lurching out of the darkness.
07:50As a horror game, then,
07:51it would be all too simple
07:52if our protagonist's batteries were reliable.
07:54As such, you will go through
07:56packs of the stuff at a time.
07:57If these were generic off-brand batteries,
07:59then fine,
08:00but these are one of the most recognizable names
08:01in the game.
08:02Are you telling me Energizer can't help me
08:04fight off nightmare creatures?
08:05Well, if so,
08:06then what am I even buying them for?
08:08Number three,
08:08Battlefield 2142's targeted advertisements.
08:12EA didn't just rent their digital billboards
08:14out to politicians,
08:15they were open to anyone with a checkbook.
08:17Battlefield 2142 is a particularly good example
08:20because it used spyware
08:22to figure out how to advertise to you.
08:24At this point,
08:25we humans have evolved to be wary of the very word
08:27because it just sounds ominous.
08:28As such,
08:29when gamers received physical copies
08:30of the new Battlefield game in 2006
08:32that came with a paper disclaimer in the box,
08:35they were understandably worried.
08:36It actually turned into a bit of a controversy
08:38for EA,
08:39who had to release clarifying statements
08:40alongside their partner IGA Worldwide,
08:43who were assisting them on this.
08:44In their words,
08:45it wasn't collecting unique data
08:46so much as what demographic you were part of,
08:48what part of the world you were in,
08:50and what time it was
08:51to better advertise to you.
08:52That's all well and good then,
08:54but considering the game takes place
08:55over a hundred years into the future,
08:57it was more than a little weird
08:58to see billboards for current day products
09:00like Intel processors,
09:01or the fact that I Am Legend
09:02was coming to Blu-ray.
09:04Still,
09:04most players would take this
09:05immersion-breaking product placement
09:07over games that are basically
09:08just microtransaction factories,
09:10so there is that.
09:11Number two,
09:12Zool and the world of Chupa Chups.
09:14Like James Pond,
09:15Zool was another early 90s wannabe mascot platformer,
09:18because at the time,
09:19you pretty much couldn't go around
09:20any street corner
09:21without bumping into a new one.
09:23Attempting to steal the limelight
09:24of Sonic the Hedgehog,
09:25this alien gremlin with attitude
09:27found himself on the Amiga
09:28and many other consoles
09:29attempting to conquer Six Lands
09:31to ascend to the rank of Ninja.
09:32Whilst it's a weird design and premise,
09:34it's the kind of thing expected
09:35out of a small startup development team.
09:38Also,
09:38the game makes no instant allusions
09:39at being bought and paid for.
09:41It's not mentioned on the box at all,
09:43but upon booting up the game,
09:44it appears that Zool 2
09:45has a particular sweet tooth.
09:47In some versions of the game,
09:48Zool stands awkwardly next to the Chupa Chups logo
09:50leaning on it.
09:51If he wasn't wearing a mask,
09:53you can imagine him grimacing
09:53at selling out to the man.
09:55The game's first stage,
09:56appropriately titled Sweet World,
09:58is covered in candy.
09:59Moreover,
10:00you basically can't go 10 feet
10:01through the level
10:02without another signpost
10:03with Chupa Chups' logo on it appearing,
10:05lauding over and overshadowing Zool.
10:07This is the first stage
10:08of your Sonic rivalling platformer.
10:10Sorry,
10:11I thought it was a commercial come to life.
10:13And number one,
10:14Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker
10:15sells its soul.
10:16The Metal Gear Solid series
10:18has a long-standing history
10:19with product placement,
10:20and MGS4 has a particularly weird moment
10:23where characters extol the virtues of the iPod.
10:25But it's PSP spin-off Peace Walker
10:27that went from walking a line
10:28to throwing itself over it,
10:30asking for capitalist kisses
10:31from Big Corpo, Mummy and Daddy.
10:33The Japanese version of the game
10:34features Doritos,
10:36Mountain Dew,
10:36Pepsi,
10:37Axe,
10:37Uniqlo,
10:38Sony Walkmans,
10:39and Weekly Shonen Magazine.
10:41Kojima actually explained
10:42that the reason for this was,
10:43and we are meant to believe
10:44he said this with some degree of sincerity,
10:47to surprise players.
10:48Yes,
10:49in the sense that it's akin to
10:50opening the case on a new game
10:51and seeing a skid mark on the disc,
10:53or in the sense that players
10:54should be surprised and enthralled
10:55that Pepsi Nex
10:56somehow appears in a game
10:57set in the 1970s.
10:59How pleasantly preposterous.
11:01It was all ridiculous,
11:02and to make things worse,
11:03these product placements
11:04were key to the gameplay.
11:06Doritos and Mountain Dew
11:07were important to keeping Snake healthy,
11:09and spraying himself with Axe body spray
11:11was needed to restore his psyche,
11:13a meter which promotes
11:14regenerating health.
11:15So apparently in the Metal Gear universe,
11:17the 1970s were a time when
11:19all soldiers were ludicrously unhealthy,
11:21and smelt like 14 year old boys.
11:24Recently,
11:25CEO of Electronic Arts,
11:26Andrew Wilson,
11:27stated that EA wants to implement,
11:29quote,
11:29thoughtful advertisements into games,
11:32to, quote,
11:32harness the power of gaming communities,
11:35so that it can use them as,
11:36quote,
11:37meaningful drivers of growth
11:38in the future,
11:39which is a speech that sounds like
11:41it was ripped directly
11:42out of a Deus Ex cutscene.
11:44Unfortunately,
11:44they're far from the only company
11:46to have comboed their video games
11:47with advertising deals.
11:49Some work,
11:50and others,
11:50well,
11:51there's enough bad examples
11:52that we already made a list,
11:53and now we're doing another.
11:55Because I'm Cy for WhatCulture.com,
11:57and here are 10 more embarrassing
11:58product placements in video games.
12:01Number 10,
12:02Diesel,
12:02Devil May Cry 2.
12:04Devil May Cry 2 is nobody's favourite game,
12:06and let's not pretend otherwise.
12:07Heck, it's more likely
12:08that the DMC Devil May Cry 2013 reboot
12:11has more fans than DMC 2 at this point,
12:14which feels like a bizarre thing to say
12:15considering the reboot's initial announcement
12:17had fans troughing at their mouth with rage
12:19over its protagonist's haircut.
12:21A small part of the fanbase's apathy
12:23towards Devil May Cry 2
12:24might have something to do with the reward,
12:26if you can call it that,
12:27for beating the game.
12:29After making your way through DMC 2 as Dante
12:31on Normal Mode and saving your data,
12:34you'll immediately be hit
12:35with a full-screen advertisement
12:36for the Diesel clothing brand.
12:38There's no buffer here,
12:39you can beat the last level,
12:40credits roll,
12:41and then bam,
12:41buy some Diesel clothes,
12:42you fashion oblivious nerd.
12:44Both protagonists Dante and Lucia
12:46have Diesel branded outfits
12:47that you can unlock
12:48by beating the game with them,
12:50which is the justification
12:51for why these adverts are in the game
12:53in the first place.
12:54Other than, you know, money.
12:55A clothing advert probably wasn't
12:57the cherry on top
12:57that the DMC megafans were looking for
12:59at the conclusion
13:00of a disappointing sequel, though.
13:02Number 9,
13:03Domino's Pizza, Code Vein.
13:05This one might be a bit too mean to include
13:06because it never actually saw the light of day,
13:09but it's so awful
13:09that it deserves a spot on this list.
13:12Hidden within the files of Code Vein
13:13are some unused voice lines
13:14that feature the English voice cast
13:16absolutely gushing over Domino's Pizza.
13:19Look, there's no sugarcoating this one.
13:21Prepare for cringe.
13:22Editor, play a short clip, please,
13:24but know that you've all been warned.
13:32The fact that someone forced
13:34some poor voice actor to say
13:36you can see the soul
13:37of an uncompromising artisan
13:39in this pizza
13:39when referring to Domino's
13:41should be a criminal offence.
13:43That's like calling a Tesco's
13:44Carbonara Ready Meal
13:45the height of Italian cuisine.
13:47There isn't much information
13:48as to why the promotion
13:49wasn't featured in the full release,
13:51but some have theorized
13:52that it fell through
13:52when the game was delayed from 2018 to 2019.
13:56All that remains
13:56over the promotion's existence
13:58are the unused voice lines
13:59and a Domino's logo
14:00in the game's files.
14:03Good grief.
14:03Number 8, Jake from State Farm,
14:05NBA 2K22.
14:07The NBA games are chock full
14:09of in-game advertisements.
14:10I could probably spend
14:11this entire video talking about it
14:13and still keep going and going
14:14and going and going
14:15and to a certain extent it makes sense.
14:17Sports have advertisements
14:18in them in the real world,
14:19so it's fine.
14:20That being said,
14:21one of these is slightly
14:23more embarrassing than the rest
14:24and honestly,
14:25just talking about it feels gross.
14:27In NBA 2K22's online mode,
14:29The City,
14:30players are given a quest
14:31to speak to Jake from State Farm.
14:33If you're unsure
14:34who Jake from State Farm is,
14:36well, good for you.
14:36Unfortunately for everybody though,
14:38further context will now be provided.
14:40State Farm is an insurance company
14:42in America
14:42and Jake is a character
14:44from their advert
14:45and apparently they're quite popular
14:46in America
14:47because it's, you know,
14:48totally normal to be a fan
14:49of an insurance company over there.
14:51The quest that you'll give
14:52to speak to Jake
14:52sees you rock up to an honest
14:54to goodness State Farm shop
14:55selling insurance company apparel,
14:58no less,
14:59wherein Jake will throw
15:00State Farm catchphrases at you.
15:02Imagine playing $60
15:03for a game stuffed with microtransactions
15:05just to have an insurance company
15:07advertised to you.
15:08Might need some mouthwash
15:09after this one.
15:10Or maybe some airwaves gum.
15:12Number 7.
15:13Gum, PCs and Body Spray
15:15Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
15:16It could be argued
15:17that the Splinter Cell series
15:19is really just an endless procession
15:20of commercials
15:21disguised as video games.
15:23Although Splinter Cell
15:24Double Agent's obsession
15:25with everything Nokia related
15:26is probably the most well-known example,
15:29the previous entry in the franchise
15:30is the best example of a title
15:31that blurs the line
15:32between a video game
15:33and a playable advert.
15:35In Chaos Theory,
15:36there genuinely might not be
15:37a single level
15:38without some form
15:39of product placement.
15:40There are advertisements
15:41for Dell PCs,
15:42several instances of Sam Fisher
15:44alluding to how much
15:45he loves airwaves gum
15:46and even a cheeky little reference
15:48from Tugar
15:49to discuss how Prince of Persia
15:51is one of the greatest games ever made.
15:53The absolute worst of these
15:54has to be the Axe Body Spray
15:56you can find in the New York penthouse
15:58of a crime lord.
15:59Sorry, you're saying
16:00this guy can afford to rent
16:01or much worse,
16:02buy a penthouse
16:03in one of the most expensive cities
16:04in the world
16:05but he uses Axe Body Spray.
16:07Well, my immersion is just ruined
16:09because everybody knows
16:10that rich people use
16:11the tears of poor people
16:12in aerosol form
16:13to clean their pits.
16:156. Cup Noodle
16:16Final Fantasy XV
16:18Final Fantasy XV
16:19has so many examples
16:20of in-game ads
16:21that it's impossible
16:22to know where to start.
16:23Your party uses
16:24Coleman-branded camping gear,
16:26Noctus drives a real Aldi
16:27and there's a side quest
16:28based around Vivian Westwood.
16:30There's even an advertisement
16:31for American Express
16:32somewhere in the game
16:33which kind of implies
16:34that America is a real place
16:36in Final Fantasy XV's world.
16:38That probably has
16:39some incredible implications
16:40for the in-game lore
16:41that Square Enix
16:42willfully ignored
16:43when American Express's
16:44check cleared.
16:45Yet somehow,
16:46the worst,
16:47most egregious of all of these
16:48has to be the Cup Noodle
16:49side quest.
16:50You can genuinely hear
16:52the voice actors
16:52in the English Dove
16:53struggling to keep a straight face
16:55throughout the dialogue
16:56in this quest
16:56as they take on the challenge
16:58trying to convince Noctus
16:59to search for the perfect ingredient
17:01to put in his instant ramen.
17:03The quest stealth
17:04wasn't the last we'd see
17:04of Cup Noodles, however,
17:06as Square Enix added a DLC
17:07that allowed Noctus
17:08to equip a giant Cup Noodle hat.
17:11On the plus side,
17:12the wearable adverts' inclusion
17:13really added to the levity
17:15of some of the more heartfelt
17:16scenes in the game.
17:175. IKEA The Sims 2
17:19The Sims games are no strangers
17:21to a bit of in-game advertising,
17:22but the IKEA Home and H&M
17:24Fashion Stuff DLC
17:25for The Sims 2
17:26really feel like they're pushing it,
17:28even by EA's standards.
17:30As the IKEA and H&M branding
17:32would suggest,
17:32these are advertisements
17:33that you can pay
17:34to put into your game.
17:36For the low cost of roughly £10
17:37per DLC,
17:38you too can be the proud
17:39digital owner
17:40of branded clothes and furniture
17:42from multi-million dollar companies.
17:44Oh yes.
17:45No, but seriously,
17:46why wasn't this content
17:47released for free?
17:48Assumedly, EA got paid
17:50to advertise these other companies
17:51at players anyway,
17:52so it's a bit odd
17:53they chose to charge them
17:54for the pleasure.
17:55Thankfully,
17:56the reaction to these DLCs
17:57were unfavourable,
17:58to say the least.
17:59EA were dragged
18:00by several different outlets
18:01and reviewers
18:02including one
18:03now infamous review
18:04from PC Zone
18:05who gave the H&M pack
18:06a 5 out of 100.
18:08Supposedly,
18:09although unconfirmed,
18:10EA were so furious
18:11with the review
18:12that they contacted
18:13PC Zone directly
18:14about this.
18:15So this resulted in
18:15PC Zone publishing
18:16a follow-up
18:17to the IKEA Home DLC
18:18where Stephen Hogarty
18:20simply listed
18:20IKEA furniture items
18:22ad nauseum
18:22in his 25 out of 100
18:24rating review.
18:26You love to see it.
18:27Number 4,
18:28Mercedes-Benz,
18:29Mario Kart 8
18:30and Super Mario Maker.
18:31Mercedes-Benz make cars
18:33and Mario Kart 8
18:34is a racing game.
18:36As far as promotional
18:37team-ups go,
18:38this one isn't that weird.
18:39You could maybe argue
18:40that it is a little bit odd
18:41that Nintendo agreed
18:42to any form of sponsorship
18:43deal at all
18:44considering they aren't
18:45really known for
18:46collaborations at all,
18:47especially not like this.
18:49However,
18:49where we can all agree
18:50is that the Super Mario Maker
18:51promotion was definitely
18:53out of left field.
18:54Putting a car
18:55into the car game
18:56is passable,
18:56but the suits
18:57that Nintendo knew
18:58they were pushing it
18:58when they shoehorned
18:59the Mercedes-Benz GLA
19:01into the mushroom
19:02stomping simulator.
19:03On the plus side,
19:04we did get this advert
19:04out of it
19:05featuring a oddly
19:06chiseled live-action Mario.
19:08Considering how forced
19:09the Super Mario Maker
19:10collab feels,
19:11it does make you wonder
19:12what other alternative games
19:14Nintendo might have
19:14considered smushing
19:15the Mercedes-Benz GLA into.
19:18Maybe a replacement skin
19:19for Epona
19:19in Twilight Princess HD?
19:21Or perhaps even a new form
19:22for Kirby to unlock
19:23and Kirby in the Rainbow Curse?
19:25Someone surely asked
19:26Sakurai if they could put
19:27the Mercedes-Benz GLA
19:28as a fighter
19:29into Smash Brothers, right?
19:30Because, I mean,
19:31duh, it's so obvious.
19:32Number three,
19:33Powerade,
19:34Enter the Matrix.
19:35For the release
19:35of the Matrix Reloaded,
19:37Warner Brothers and Coca-Cola
19:38teamed up to slap
19:38the Powerade brand
19:39across everything
19:40and anything
19:41Matrix-related.
19:42Full-page cross-promotional
19:43ads in magazines
19:44and advertisement
19:45before showings of the films
19:46where an agent
19:47tells everyone to get hydrated,
19:49there was even a special
19:50limited-edition
19:50Matrix-colored Powerade bottle.
19:53Enter the Matrix,
19:53the video game tie-in
19:54that launched alongside
19:55The Matrix Reloaded
19:56wasn't immune
19:57from this Powerade-fueled
19:59cross-promotional nightmare either.
20:01Powerade vending machines
20:02can be found in a few locations
20:03in Enter the Matrix,
20:04sporting the same
20:05green and black
20:06Matrix-style branding
20:07as the special
20:08limited-edition Powerade bottles
20:09and will restore your health
20:11if you interact with them.
20:12In any other game,
20:13this kind of marketing ploy
20:14would be passable at best,
20:16but The Matrix is supposed
20:17to be a critique of capitalism
20:18and a not-so-subtle one at that.
20:20We all know that executive meddling exists
20:22and that films often have to
20:24subsidize production costs
20:25through marketing deals,
20:26but in The Matrix's case,
20:27you'd think they'd try to be clever
20:29with it at the very least.
20:30Give the audience a little wink and nudge
20:32while you force-feed them
20:33Coca-Cola-branded electrolytes,
20:35come on.
20:362. Final Fantasy The Spirits Within
20:38Life is Strange
20:39In the original Life is Strange,
20:40there's a sort of tongue-in-cheek moment
20:42where Max makes a throwaway comment
20:43about wanting to watch
20:44Final Fantasy The Spirits Within
20:46on a flat-screen TV
20:47that you can interact with.
20:49All in all, it's pretty harmless stuff.
20:51Square Enix produced Life is Strange
20:52and of course they published
20:53the Final Fantasy games,
20:55so this is just a cute little reference
20:56on behalf of the publisher, right?
20:58Actually, it turns out that Square Enix
21:00had not much to do with it at all,
21:02as the reference directly came from
21:04Life is Strange's writer,
21:05Christian Devine.
21:06When asked about the reference
21:07on the Kinda Funny Games podcast,
21:09co-director Michael Cox said
21:10that the writer considers the movie
21:12to be one of the best sci-fis ever made,
21:14and that its connection with Square Enix
21:16was just a happy accident.
21:17Now look, I'm more likely to defend this film
21:19than some people,
21:21but Eve and I will draw the line.
21:23This is a pretty questionable opinion,
21:25and apparently Square Enix agreed.
21:27Because according to Michael Cox,
21:28Eve and the company was confused
21:29about the reference,
21:30as they were worried that players
21:31might assume the writers
21:32were forced into putting something
21:34like this into the game,
21:35assumedly because of The Spirits Within's
21:37terrible critical reception,
21:39and also it was like, what,
21:4015 years old at this point?
21:42And number one, PlayStation.
21:44FIFA.
21:44As I said previously,
21:46sports and advertising just go together,
21:48so much like you'd see in a real football match,
21:50FIFA titles feature a bunch of advertisements
21:52in the form of pitch side ads.
21:54Again, this isn't that weird,
21:56and you can actually defend the inclusion of these
21:58because it makes a more authentic experience
22:00all around,
22:01but McDonald's trying to advertise you
22:02their new 699 Double McChicken Tower Burger
22:05in FIFA 24,
22:06it's like you're really there at Old Trafford.
22:09The embarrassing in the title of this video
22:10has a slight different twist this time,
22:12because it depends on which platform
22:14you play FIFA on,
22:15and it depends who you're embarrassing.
22:18Since 1997,
22:19PlayStation have been one of the UEFA Champions League's
22:22many sponsors,
22:23and as a result,
22:24the PlayStation logo is often slapped
22:25across the side of the pitch
22:26when a Champions League match
22:28is broadcast on TV.
22:30The slightly embarrassing side effect
22:31of this sponsorship deal
22:32is that the advertisements in FIFA games
22:34mirror the ones found in real matches,
22:36which means that PlayStation advertisements
22:38can be found in countless FIFA games
22:40on both Xbox and Nintendo platforms.
22:43The Sony ads are so prevalent
22:45that Nintendo once basically ran
22:46a 30-minute advert for the PS4 Pro
22:49at Gamescom
22:50when EA showed off FIFA 19
22:52on the Nintendo Switch.
22:53Oops, sorry.
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