President Obama To Run Re-Election Ads in Madden 13

The last presidential election showed that the power of marketing to the youth meant everything. From Rock the Vote to running hip ads that spoke to the younger demographic, President Barack Obama was able to cater his message of hope and change through various mediums that his opponent Senator John McCain was unable to tap into.

That strategy is one that the President is utilizing yet again in his bid for re-election this November. The massively popular Madden 13 hit shelves late last month and it announced by the Obama administration that ads will be run in portions of the game to let players know of Obama’s message.

This is both a good an bad thing.

On the one hand it’s a brilliant scheme to get young voters who maybe weren’t interactive with the 2008 election familiar with Obama’s image. And to the Sean Hannity’s of the world who will undoubtedly blast this decison as communist, no one is stopping Mitt Romney from running dueling ads within the game. God knows EA and Madden is not going to turn down a penny.

But to the smarter conservatives out in the world, this move to advertise within a fledging albeit popular game, could serve up metaphors galore for those opposing the President. Let’s face it, Madden 13 kind of sucks on a majority of levels outside the game play and it won’t take Joe the Plummer to make analogies between the downfall of the once revolutionary game and Obama’s presidency.

Outside of George Will (who is really the only smart right wing commentator), it’s not likely that these analogies will be made. But there is that possibility.

Beyond the ways that this move could be deconstructed, the main reason it would be attacked is because Obama has yet again brilliantly positioned himself to rake in the youth vote. Advertising in games such as Need for Speed and Burnout (imagine the analogies conservatives could come up with with those titles) proved insanely successful for the President in 2008, and he’s banking on a repeat of that success come this November.