Big article in the Wall Street Journal today on Junk-Food Games (paid subscription required): "Online Arcades Draw Fire For Immersing Kids in Ads; Ritz Bits Wrestling, Anyone?"

Some interesting excerpts:

And...

Clearly, there's not just a little bit of melodrama going on here, but I guess that's par for the course. But what's most interesting to me is that advertisers, consumers, and the media are admitting that game rhetoric does exist, which is great. As for the conclusions, well, Wildtangent EVP David Madden says, "As opposed to a 30-second commercial where you're being beaten over the head with the message, these games are a very benevolent approach to marketing." Forrester analyst Catherine Li calls advergames a "sly approach."

I wonder if what we are really seeing in these comments is not only a response to junk food, but also a response to the very idea that games can perform rhetorically. No matter the individual fears about this topic, the public acknowledgment of rhetoric in games is promising, and important.