"We talk about selling the Massive Sports Channel or the Massive Action/Adventure Channel, since that's a good way to sell [our network] for marketers. We just want to frame it properly for them and answer all of the questions they might have," he continued. "When we go out and do our sales pitch, we do a bi-monthly updated program guide for our marketing partners. When we sit down with them, we have full disclosure; we talk about every title on their buy to let them know the content and the audience they're involved with. It's not like TV, where the ads are clearly separated from the entertainment; in gaming, the ads are really part of the content. Sometimes, it's a rubber stamp, sometimes it's more of a head scratcher and you have to explain the intimate details with them. [Mercenaries 2] has a conflict setting and it takes place on foreign soil, so for [marketers], they have to ask, 'How do we message within that environment?' The Tropic Thunder promotion we did is obviously complementary to Rainbow Six: Vegas 2, but sometimes it's less obvious. You have to really speak to the gamer."

Destructible ads a better way to reach the consumer?
Considering the billboards in Transformers and Mercenaries 2 offer an extra layer of "engagement" to the player, it seems like destructible ads should be more of a plus to marketers than a minus. It's a rare opportunity to engage with consumers on a very visceral level, after all.

But is it completely positive? Sampson wasn't so sure. He sighed and responded, "Yes and no. [Marketers] appreciate in Transformers that people were so into the creative they were smacking things around with it. In Mercenaries 2, it's a way to interact with brands and acknowledge the messaging. You have to process it before you blow it up, after all. However, I think the reassuring fact for most marketers is that whenever you restart, the ads come back. When players relaunch the game, they can reengage with the consumer."

"[Destructible ads is] one example of our in-game advertising types and it's part of our overall creative mix," he added. "We think it's a win all the way around, because it's part of the environment. When you buy a placement in a TV show, it appears, but that is pretty much all; it's not really consequential to the story. As long as in turn this is part of the content, it's a win. You certainly always look to have a truly engaged consumer. We need to break the fourth wall a little bit to have these ads in there, but we make sure that things match the environment."

While not every game is going to feature billboards you can destroy or pick up, Sampson confirmed that this sort of interactivity is something he'd like to see more of going forward. "It's the hope and promise of the medium to have a high level of interactivity. For example, if you hit certain levels of achievement in a sports game, you get the attention of a sponsor for some in-game benefit; that's the sort of positive brand messaging we're looking for. To use a recent example, in Anarchy Online, we had a concert by the All-American Rejects sponsored by Verizon in a safe zone. That's a ton of engagement and fresh content, plus positive association for Verizon. More and more, we're hearing from publishers like Ubisoft and EA , 'How do we push the envelope?' So we're constantly looking for new opportunities for ads in games," he concluded.

Thanks to our friends at GameCyte for initially tipping us off to the destructible ads.