Lab+5


 * What is the difference between advertising methods used in the real world and the virtual world? Please explain. **

Real world advertising refers to the traditional methods of advertising, from print, to radio to TV commercials. Even though radio and TV ads are not actually physical or ‘real’, they are communicated to the population through real and physical means (our television sets and our radios). Real world advertising uses inanimate and animate objects to exhibit what they are advertising. Inanimate objects include anything from walls, posters, to billboards, flyers, taxis, subway stations, buses and magazines. Advertisers try to utilize any object for advertising space. The advent of digital technology brought about a new medium for advertising; the virtual world. Advertisers are using the virtual realm to reach new potential customers. Virtual world is considered a genre of online community where a computer based environment is simulated. An example of a virtual world would be video games. Major corporations are increasingly investing more on virtual world advertising and specifically video games. Corporations realize that traditional, or ‘real world’ media is capturing less attention from the young consumers. People now skip ad pages and forward through advertisements. But when advertising is incorporated in the virtual world such as video games, the viewer cant help but intake the information. I remember in the very popular racing game, Need for Speed, all the buildings were blank and brand free but there was a burger king in every driving block!