Commentary

Use of Gaming Finalists

Plain vanilla product placement doesn't cut it with gamers. The best creative meets this discriminating target head on with content that enhances the gaming experience.

MEC Interaction

Cadbury Adams/ Stride

Jay Krihak, Group Media Director; Ashan Khan; Charlie Chubet

The challenge of advertising in video games is getting in without ruining the experience for gamers. To promote Cadbury Adams' Stride Ridiculously Long-Lasting Gum, MEC Interaction used the brand message of "ridiculously long-lasting" by creating a tournament that embodied the product's theme. The agency offered gamers the chance to play against the pros in the field, all under the Stride imprimatur. MEC Interaction understood that to advertise within a game, the trick is to add without interrupting. 

GM Planworks and Play (a division of Denuo)

Cadillac/V-Series

Play/Denuo: Saneel Radia, Group Director;  Mike McCarthy, Group Director; Tim Harris, Senior Vice President; Randy Shaffer, Associate

Cadillac: Liz Vanzura, Global Marketing Director; Heather Loeffelbein, CRM Manager; Kevin Smith, Manager

GM Planworks: Ryan Bell, Media Supervisor; Wendy Rosinski, Vice President, Media Director; Abbey Berryman, Associate Media Director

Microsoft: Pedro Gutierrez, New Media Product Planner; Adam Kovach, Global Product Manager; Kathie Flood, Program Manager; Chris Novak, Design Director; Kiki Wolfkill, Art Director

Adding free content is a great way to get in front of gamers. GM Planworks and Play did so masterfully with the Cadillac V-Series content pack for "Project Gotham Racing 3," which allowed players to drive Cadillac's high-performance V-Series collection through PGR3's tracks. More than 160,000 players downloaded the game, driving the cars for 457,206 minutes.

The top 100 gamers received a "Cadillac Elite" badge on their Xbox 360 profiles.

Click here to view GM Planworks and Play's brief.

GM Planworks and Play (a division of Denuo)

General Motors/ Pontiac

Play: Saneel Radia, Group Director; Mike McCarthy, Group Director; Tim Harris, Senior Vice President

Pontiac: Mark-Hans Richer, Marketing Director; Dino Bernacchi, Advertising Manager

GM Planworks: Molly Marchese, Vice President, Media Director

To promote the Pontiac brand, GM Planworks and Play created a multimedia experience around "NCAA College Hoops 2K6." The Pontiac Virtual NCAA Final 4 combined in-game branding with a nationwide virtual tournament played over Internet-linked consoles. The top four players in the virtual tourney were flown to the real-life NCAA championship rounds to play the final matches in front of a live crowd.

Click here to view GM Planworks and Play's brief.

For more information about the OMMA Awards ceremony go here.

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