The Scottish government is spending £10,000 to display advertising in Xbox Live games. All in an effort to reach younger drivers before they drink and drive.

BBC: Xbox games tackle drink driving

Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said the innovative initiative was a “huge opportunity” to get the anti-drink driving message to a new audience.

Mr Stevenson said: “With statistics showing that road deaths, particularly among young people, are continuing to rise, it is clear we must look at new ways of getting road safety messages across.

“This is exactly the kind of initiative we should be trying.

“It is innovative, it is new, and it is far removed from the more traditional methods we have been using. I believe that is what we need if we are to reverse the number of Scots families suffering the tragedy of a loved one being lost.”

According to the BBC, more than 70% of 15 to 24 year olds in the UK have a gaming console in their home.

On the one hand, I think this is genius. I’m an “old guy”, and I spend more and more of my time online and less interacting with “traditional media”. Younger people certainly spend an even higher percentage of their time wired in. If you want to reach them, you need to go where they are.

On the other, as a gamer, I lament this further intrusion into my escape from the everyday. I didn’t like it when ads appeared in PlanetSide, and if I actually had time to have an Xbox and a Live account, I’m sure I wouldn’t like them there either. I’m glad that the ads will be “non-intrusive and subtle”, but it just still feels wrong to me.

(via Boing Boing (via Wonderland))