Andrew LaVallee

In advertisements on hundreds of blogs, visitors are being encouraged to join a lawsuit against Alltel Corp. over a new discount-calling plan from the regional cellphone company. The plan, called My Circle, allows Alltel customers to designate up to 10 phone numbers that can be called for free, regardless of the cellphone carrier they’re affiliated with.

“Have you been added to an Alltel My Circle without your consent? Join our class-action lawsuit and let our experience help to recover your losses,” reads one version of the ad.

The content of the ad seemed controversial and worried Walter Olson when it was submitted to his popular legal blog, Overlawyered. He recalls that when he first saw it, he thought, “It’d be the first time I’d have to reject an ad.”

Then Mr. Olson did some online digging and discovered that the ad was a spoof, part of an elaborate marketing campaign designed by the Little Rock, Ark., cellular company. The ads link to a Web site for the People Against My Circle Foundation – also an Alltel creation – while another faux site carries play-by-play reports from the court battle.

But the ad campaign may be too clever for its own good: Some bloggers have refused to carry the ads about the lawsuit, and others have been hesitant. Many blog visitors, meanwhile, have expressed confusion over the ads in online forums, with some asking: Who’s Alltel? (The company isn’t well known to consumers outside the states where it offers service.)

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It appears on every PlayStation and Xbox video screen sooner or later: the dreaded “Game Over.” But activewear brands like Nike, Adidas, Reebok and Puma are just beginning to play in the video game arena.

In “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005,” Woods wears the Nike swoosh logo on his polo shirt, baseball cap and even golf club. In “NBA Live 2004,” players can choose the Nike shoes their basketball player wears, from Air Foamposite Pro Colorway 3s to LeBron James’ choice, Air Zoom Generations. And in “NFL Street 2,” receivers are wearing Reebok’s NFL line of apparel.

Sportswear product placement in video games is increasing fast, and with good reason. According to a 2004 report by the Entertainment Software Association, video and computer game sales in the U.S. reached $7 billion in 2003 and continue to grow. That makes gaming almost as big as the U.S. movie industry. (Domestic box-office returns have hovered around $9.5 billion for the past three years, according to the Motion Picture Association.) The average gamer is 29 and expects to be playing as much or more 10 years from now. And girls and young women now account for about 39 percent of game players, a figure that is steadily growing.

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