It would appear that in-game advertising is a serious business. Following the news yesterday regarding titles published by Activision Blizzard, Games On Net have discovered that the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, (known as the TAC) intend to target PlayStation 3 owners with messages warning of the dangers of drink driving, speed, and motorcycles. The advertisements are set to commence in January 2009.

The initiative is part of a partnership with the Sensis-owned digital media outlet, MediaSmart, and is a part of cross-media campaigns targeted towards young drivers. The advertisements will be placed in multiple EA games, including NFL, NBA, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and within the Need for Speed franchise.

TAC's Senior Manager of Marketing, John Thompson had the following to say regarding the decision:

Figures show about half of males aged between 18 and 34 have played computer games at home in the last three months. Road trauma is the leading cause of death among young Australians. 30 per cent of those killed on Victorian roads in 2008 were under 30 years of age. Yet despite the obvious need for safe driving messages to reach young people, the TAC has found that this age group is difficult to reach with traditional advertising.

While noting high fatality figures, Thompson also noted that drivers must be safe, and that similar messages will be placed on TV, billboards, bus-stops, and other advertising media. Whilst a move such as this a recognition that video games are a valid form of media for young people, the campaign could have mixed results - as it can often be difficult to ascertain if a product advertised in a game is a real one, especially so if there is little to no brand-awareness in the first place.

Edit: Last week, before this initiative was officially announced by the TAC, Forum regular frosty-theaussie spotted an ad from the TAC in Far Cry 2 (see below). If you've seen another ad, we'd very much like to know. As always, if you see something that you feel is newsworthy, get in touch with us!