Parody as brand

Abstract

Advergames – a neologism for video games designed to advertise a product or service – are marketing devices employed to impact consumers’ purchasing decisions and, more frequently, shape their impressions of a promoted brand. The online advergames of the programming block-turned media brand [adult swim] (AS) present a clear case in which the games act as rich signifiers of brand aesthetics even if they are not directly connected to the content of the brand’s television shows, live events, and other assorted merchandise. Although these ‘casual’-style titles have gameplay mechanics that are accessible to broad audiences, these advergames often exhibit a critical stance toward other games, which differentiates them from the vast majority of casual games on the market. But rather than being anti-casual, we argue that these games are best understood as being paracasual because they use parody to both trouble prevailing definitions of casual games and advergames, and deploy an aesthetic disposition that further helps define the brand. Furthermore, they are an increasingly visible and vital component of a constellation of texts and practices that function as what James Paul Gee calls an ‘affinity space’ for a lucrative audience demographic. This article assesses how AS games use parody to deconstruct textually video gaming’s most popular genres and how such parodic deconstruction, as evidenced by players’ online discussions, serves as an affinity space for a media-savvy taste culture.