Political games

From YouTube music videos featuring will.i.am and Scarlett Johansson to an almost 850,000-member Facebook group, Barack Obama’s campaign is exploring new territory.

But the Democratic nominee took a new step in early October when he bought ad space in 18 Xbox 360 online games, specifically targeting young male voters.
The ads will run until Monday in 10 swing states, including Indiana. Polls show Obama and John McCain in a close race in Indiana.

While his strategy has targeted young voters from its inception, reaching out to college-age males, the smallest voting demographic, represents a new avenue of campaigning.

Department of Political Science Professor Russell Hanson said because senior citizens typically make up a plurality of voters, sometimes candidates focus little attention on reaching out to a usually inactive crowd.

“It says that he believes these are the ways one reaches younger voters, who happen to be young males,” Hanson said. “He’s exploring new ways of communicating with young voters who can’t be reached by traditional outlets. He’s adapted to a new political environment.”

EA spokeswoman Mariam Sughayer said Massive Inc., the firm responsible for creating the ads, offered to sell space to the McCain campaign, but it declined the invitation. Hanson proposed several reasons for the Republican nominee’s refusal.

“I think in some ways it means they underestimate the potential,” Hanson said. “They don’t think there are many younger voters that will support them. The investment in advertising wouldn’t be worthwhile. The McCain campaign is much shorter on resources. It would be a waste of money for them. They could reach older voters who are much more sympathetic.”

Associate Professor of Communication and Culture Jonathan Simons said Obama’s foray into the gaming industry symbolizes his “Change” slogan, as his tactics revolutionize the way candidates target voters.

“You could say that is symbolically what is forward-looking and what is change,” Simons said. “Some could say it is gimmicky, superficial, and have reason for not feeling it is a good symbol of making real change. If it’s just about a gimmick, then it’s not a substantial change. But you can read it either way.”

Obama’s latest move solidifies him as the candidate more popular among 18- to 30-year-old voters.

A study released this week by Harvard University’s Institute of Politics shows Obama maintains a 26 percent advantage against McCain for this demographic. Despite Obama’s role as a pop culture figure, Simons said his grassroots campaign can also take credit if he ends up winning the presidency.

“I think (reaching out to younger voters) is going to end up a big story of the campaign when it’s done, when people have worked out how many new and young voters have turned out to the polls,” Simons said. “If that’s the case, it’s going to have as much to do with on-the-ground organizations that the Obama campaign got together as it does with popular culture, getting people out to vote who otherwise wouldn’t have voted may make the difference.”

IU College Democrats President Anna Strand said young people gravitate toward Obama because he acknowledges them as a vital group of citizens necessary for his aim to win the White House. His new-media style serves as the next step in campaigning, she said.

“I don’t consider it being revolutionary, as just being smart,” Strand said. “I think it has set a major tone for the rest of campaigns here on out. It isn’t just about negative television advertisements. It’s about being interactive with people in their day to day life.”