A First: Obama Campaign Drives Early Voting Message in Xbox 360 Car-Racing Video Game

This election, NDN has argued strongly on behalf of the merits of early voting to allow citizens to make sure their voices are heard in the electoral process.

Currently, more than 30 states allow early voting in locations like grocery stores, community centers and local malls. Many people simply can't afford -- literally -- to take an hour or two off of work to stand in line, or they can't leave a sick child at home. No one knows what might happen on Election Day -- a car that won't start, an unexpected work meeting, you name it. Early voting is a democratic (small "d") safety net that catches the millions of Americans who live complicated, over-scheduled lives in which taking a long break from work or an otherwise overloaded day to vote is simply not an option.

It is estimated that up to one-third of those who do cast a vote in this year's presidential election will do so early, and the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama and John McCain are urging people to vote early.

Today, the Obama campaign entered new, high-tech territory it hopes will help it connect with a traditionally hard-to-reach demographic: 18-to-34-year-old males.

And what is Obama doing? In an advertising first, the campaign is inserting political advertising in popular video games such as Guitar Hero, Madden 09 and Xbox 360's car-racing title, "Burnout: Paradise City."

According to this TechNewsWorld report about political ads in the Xbox 360 "Burnout:Paradise City:" 

The game features a multiplayer element in which users can play against each other if they hook their Xbox consoles up to the Internet. When the game is connected to the Web, new advertisements can be placed on billboards that players see as they race through the streets.

Obama's ad reads "Early voting has begun. Voteforchange.com. Paid for by Obama for President."

The Gaming Gets Political

While initially there was speculation that images of the advertisement could have been faked, Electronic Arts, publisher of "Burnout," has confirmed that the ads are legitimate.

"The campaign is a regional campaign that began on Oct. 6 and is running through Nov. 3," Holly Rockwood, an EA spokesperson, told the E-Commerce Times.

The ads are running in 10 states: Ohio, Florida, Iowa, Colorado, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada and Wisconsin. Although these states (with the exception of Wisconsin) were won by President George W. Bush in the 2004 election, many have become battleground states in this election cycle, where Obama and Republican nominee John McCain have been fighting tooth and nail for each vote.

The ads, according to Rockwood, may run in the larger states for as few as 10 days, with those scheduled in smaller states running the entire time span. They appear to target what is traditionally a much sought-after demographic.

"In general, the 'Burnout' audience is typically male, ages 18 to 34. I think the sweet spot age is 27 or 28. The attractive benefit any advertiser sees in advertising on a game like 'Burnout' is reaching that demographic," Rockwood noted.

Note that the VoteforChange.com Web site is an Obama Web site that viewers can visit, enter data and find out if they are eligible for early voting and other information.

Associated Press also wrote about the early voting video game push:

Too busy playing video games to watch presidential ads on television? Barack Obama has found you, too, by becoming the first presidential candidate to buy ad space inside a game.

Eighteen video games, including the extremely popular "Guitar Hero" and "Madden 09," will feature in-game ads from the Obama campaign in the final weeks before the election. The ads — appearing on billboards and other signage — remind players that early voting has begun and plug a campaign Web site that encourages people to register for early voting.

Obama campaign officials said the video game ads target 10 states that allow early voting, including several battleground states: Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida, and Colorado.

These early voting pitches may be included in games, but the importance placed on encouraging people to vote early show that the campaigns think doing so is anything but.