Considering the distinct interactivity features of video games, they place a mental demand on players when performing the game tasks. Hence, in-game advertising (IGA) is unlikely to receive full attention, and the mental demand of the game is central to IGA processing. This thesis asked how we can effectively increase awareness of in-game advertising by understanding the role of mental load imposed on players while interacting with games on their awareness of IGA. To answer this, this thesis ran three studies in which it investigated the mental load imposed on players of video games using two sub effects: game difficulty and game genre. In this regard, two different games were designed and developed with incorporated ads and an off-the-shelf game was also used to investigate how each type of mental load affect IGA awareness.
These three studies consisted of several major contributions. The first of these contributions was conceptualising the mental load imposed by video games as two types: cognitive or perceptual loads and each type affects IGA awareness in distinct patterns. High-perceptual load games induces early selection towards game-relevant information and filters out any ad processing, however high-cognitive load games induce late selection that facilitates IGA awareness. In addition, this research has several contributions to IGA research, in relation to the effect of brand familiarity, game difficulty and game genre. Familiar brands were found to achieve better awareness than unfamiliar brands, especially when placed near the end of the game. Findings also demonstrated that video games that imposed a high perceptual load on players, i.e., football and difficult driving games, decreased players’ awareness of IGA. However, games that imposed a high cognitive load on players, i.e., the sliding puzzle game, demonstrated higher awareness of IGA. Additionally, this thesis examined how different game logics and parameters of different genres determine the type of mental load imposed by the game which consequently affect ad awareness in distinct ways. Finally, this thesis introduced an advisory code for advertisers to achieve the highest awareness of their IGA.