Analysing Advergames: Active Diversions or Actually Deception

We review the nature of advergames and the rhetoric versus reality of their claimed effects and effectiveness, focussing specifically on their use by children. We use consumer behaviour theories such as the persuasion knowledge model to provide a theoretically-grounded framework for understanding the effect of advergames and other forms of interactive marketing communication on consumer groups that are perceived as being more vulnerable to commercial pressures than the wider population. Existing broadcasting codes of practice for mainstream advertising are used to evaluate the content of websites that are likely to have particular appeal to children in order to determine whether the material contained in these sites would be permitted if similar codes of practice were applied to electronic communications. Managerial and policy maker implications conclude the paper.