Well, the latest news in the Xbox industry is the Scottish Government’s planning to curb drink-driving amongst the youngsters by placing anti-drink driving advertisements on virtual billboards in Xbox 360 games. This move has come about the with the increasing number of Scottish youngsters driving after drinking beyond the legal limit.
It was found that almost 150 drivers below the age of 25 had been caught over the limit in the two weeks since the launch of the annual police crackdown on drink-driving. By advertising on a medium used frequently by young Scots, the Scottish Government hopes the anti-drink driving messages will be driven home.
Virtual billboards carrying the drink-driving message will be programmed into Xbox games such as Need for Speed: Carbon, Project Gotham Racing 4, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 and NBA Live, all of which are popular games played by youngsters. This project costs the Government £10,000 and will be managed by Road Safety Scotland. If the messages are deemed to be successful and effective, any messages can be programmed into any game.
Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson was noted as saying that with statistics showing that road deaths among young people are on the rise, new ways have to be devised to spread the message of road safety.
With the festive season around the corner, many people will be unwrapping a game console. This would be a good opportunity to target a new set of audience. Michael McDonnell, director of Road Safety Scotland, was noted saying that he believed that the positioning of the drink-drive message in online games will serve as a reminder to young Scots about the consequences of what they are doing. This would hopefully reduce the incidences of road deaths, particularly among the young ones.
Via BBC
Image Source
