British Government Recruiting Over Xbox Live

Gaming has been prospected as an armed forces recruitment tool for years, so it was only a matter of time before online games were targeted as an avenue. It’s just that the British government ended up doing it first.

The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) – a British intelligence agency working with the armed forces is initiating a recruitment drive over Xbox Live using in-game ads. The six-week campaign will target the 18-34 male demographic with streaming video banners and in-game ads. The effort will be led by GCHQ communications recruitment partner TMP Worldwide.

The first time GCHQ advertised over Xbox Live was its 2007 ad campaign for job opportunities in Splinter Cell Double Agent. The drive increased traffic to its website by over 500 percent.

The most famous gaming-related government recruiting tool has been the free America’s Army games which seem to be proving legitimately effective. Real dynamic advertisements have been appearing in games and even on the Xbox Live dashboard for years now. A government as an advertiser in gaming seems like the next logical step.