Advertising in synthetic worlds - NOT OK.

There was so much information covered about the synthetic world that I am only going to cover a small section of it that intrigued me the most which is advertising in video games.

The reading explained that although advertising can indeed increase the revenue for games, if done "improperly" then the game will falter and advertising can have the reverse effect. As Castronova states, "Remember these are fantasy worlds. Too much material from the Earth, or the wrong kind of material, can easily make them un-fun." I completely agree with this statement. Advertising to me is a very effective and annoying medium. When used in a very generic and cheesy way it really bothers me, however; when it is strategically placed in a not so obvious manner that I subconsciously pick it up then the advertising is good.

A synthetic world is one of its own in which people can escape from this world to another that fulfills one's imagination. When bombarded and tainted with advertising, it takes away that "special" meaning that the game holds and it commercializes it more to the point where the game just isn't fun anymore. It would make the player disconnect from the game and that is the last thing that anyone would want to happen when he/she is having fun lost in a virtual world. Castronova comments on advertising by saying, "...if you can't make it a natural part of the world's lore, you risk degrading the user immersion level. He also makes a point to quickly explain how advertising could be effective in games but the argument is much weaker because although it may work, it is better not to test those waters in my opinion. He gives an example of placing a brand like Levi's jeans in a world like the Wild West. Still if not placed correctly it can ruin everything.

Honestly, our world that we live in on Earth is flooded with advertising everywhere you turn via online media, television, radio, print, billboards, etc. I would like my one escape from the daily grind to be advertisement free and uninterrupted with things from this world. Look at this game clip below for the a Sony PS3 game.  Notice the ad billboards in the background of the game. What a horrible way to commercialize this game and totally ruin the feel for the game.  Advertising ruins the integrity of a creatively constructed game.  Even the picture blow the first one is a humorous way of poking fun at the idea of placing advertising in a video game.

My feelings about this are obviously very strong, but what are your thoughts on this? Would ads in a game not phase you or do you have a strong preference against them and why?