There were so many ads in the game Some were in sidebars to the left and right of the screen These were easier to recognize They were for a fantasy game that looked very different from his game He was glad he knew what they were Clicking them would also take him away from his game He preferred the ads on his brother's SPONSORSHIPS Race car drivers and teams seek sponsors to help cover their costs This money pays for racing fees for car repairs and even for new cars A company that sponsors a racing team gets its name and logo on the car and on the drivers jumpsuits These are often long term agreements The sponsorship may last months or years In contrast an ad on a website may appear for only a brief time favorite racing game They were just like the ads in real racing Some cars were painted with the names and logos of sponsors There were also ads on billboards near the start of the race These ads were just part of the background He didn't have to worry about clicking on them and leaving
Race cars are covered with advertisements promoting companies that sponsor their teams the game This mattered because he just wanted to play not to shop Still he knew no matter where the ads appeared they were trying to sell him something
ADVERTISING An advertisement or ad for short is a way of sharing information Some ads let people know a company has a job opening Others may share important public information They may encourage people to stop smoking or to eat healthful foods But most ads want to convince a consumer to buy something Ads take many different forms They appear on television in magazines and on billboards Today a large number of the ads people see are on the Internet Some ads such as the banner ads at the top of a Web page include text and images Others cover up an entire page while they play their advertising message Ads may even appear within the games people play online ONLINE ADVERTISING It's important to understand advertising and how it works The goal of advertisers is to sell products to consumers Because of this they place ads wherever
BUYING ONLINE Advertisers want to be online because many people shop without ever setting foot in a store They prefer to shop at the same place where they watch movies catch up on the news and play games on the Internet In December 2015 the Pew Research Center found that nearly 8 in 10 US adults make online purchases WAYS THAT US ADULTS USE TECHNOLOGY TO SHOP ONLINE 79 ON A CELL PHONE 51 THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS 15 HOW OFTEN DO US ADULTS SHOP ONLINE 15 Weekly 28 A few times a month Less than a few times a month 20 Never 37
