Microsoft spends £500k on ads in Metro

Regional freesheet Metro has told GamesIndustry.biz that Microsoft's total spend for the huge advertising campaign in today's edition amounts to around GBP 500,000.

Microsoft has bought up almost all the ad space in today's paper, with huge adverts for first-party titles such as Gears of War, Viva Piñata and Ninety-Nine Nights. There's a competition to win a 360 and home cinema system, plus ads promoting the Xbox Live Vision Camera, the Classic range, the forthcoming HD-DVD player, wireless accessories and Xbox Live Arcade.

In addition, the paper features ads from companies such as PC World, Samsung, HMV, GAME, GameStation and BT which all prominently feature Xbox 360. Plus there are plus third-party software ads from Activision, THQ, Capcom, Sega, Rockstar, Ubisoft, EA, Atari and Konami.

"One of the reasons they've done it is to cause a reaction," said Metro ads exec Chris Brown.

"It costs £500,000 to do a whole issue, but they'll make a profit out of that. Our readership is 2 million people every day, so if 100,000 of those people make a £50 purchase, that's £5 million.

"So you might think it's a lot of money, but think of the money they'll make off the back of it."

According to Brown, Metro is an ideal fit for Microsoft's advertising campaign because it is mainly read by "young affluent communters with disposable income they're willing to spend".

"About ten years ago, gamers were either kids or a particular type of people; now adults are bigger kids than kids and play videogames just as much, and every adult can buy a game which appeals to them," he added.

Today's edition of The Sun also features a heavy Microsoft presence, with a four page Xbox 360 supplement promoting titles such as Gears of War, Viva Piñata, Pro Evo 6 and FIFA '07. There's also a competition to win a console and five games plus a round-up of accessories and new releases.