Many people were impressed when presidential candidate Barack Obama utilized viral marketing to help raise money for his campaign. Now Senator Obama has taken campaigning to a new level as he is advertising in nine major video games in 10 swing states.

Electronic Arts (EA) has confirmed that Senator Obama purchased in-game ad space in Madden NFL ’09, Burnout Paradise, NASCAR 09, NHL 09, NBA Live 08, Need For Speed: Carbon, ProStreet, NFL Tour and Skate. This advertising program, which consists of Obama ads on stadium signs or billboards, is aimed at males 18-34 who are the main users of the selected video games. Online gamers in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin are exposed to these ads, in a program that will run from October 6 until November 3.

EA also contacted Senator Obama’s opponent, Senator John McCain to see if he would be interested in a similar program, but Senator McCain declined.

This is the first time a presidential candidate has used in-game ads to campaign. Whether it will be successful remains to be seen. If it is successful then this will likely become a trend for future elections and possibly even for private businesses.

Image from Burnout Paradise on Xbox 360