Community Contextualization of Mobile Game Ads Through YouTube Essays

Mobile games have emerged as a dominant entertainment medium, attracting billions of players worldwide and giving rise to a rapidly expanding ecosystem of advertising both as advertisers and broadcasters. While such advertisements are crucial for the mobile game ecosystem, their content has frequently been criticized for being misleading, inappropriate, or incongruent with the gameplay experience. These discrepancies can foster feelings of deception and erode players’ attitudes toward both the advertisement and its associated brand. We investigate how influencers frame community discourse of mobile game advertisements through a qualitative analysis of highly viewed YouTube video essays on mobile game ads. By examining creators’ emotional reactions, cognitive appraisals, and the narrative framing of these critiques, we aim to uncover the underlying mechanisms that shape consumer attitudes toward advertising within mobile gaming contexts. Our findings suggest that mobile game ads attract mainly annoyance and skepticism, and they are dominantly discussed through the characters and game mechanics they showcase. Our study contributes to marketing and game studies literature by integrating affective and cognitive perspectives on mobile game advertising effectiveness and offers practical implications for developers seeking to design ethically sound, engaging ads that align with players’ expectations and values.