Patent Publication Number: US-2015066625-A1

Title: Incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Companies have long used traditional advertising approaches, such as commercials that run during television shows and prior to movie screenings, to reach television and movie viewers and attempt to convert them into customers. More recently, companies have expanded their approach using a product integration or product placement model in which their products or brands are incorporated within the television or movie content itself. For example, a character in a show might interact with the placed product as a prop, or refer to it in some manner. While such models can work satisfactorily in some cases, there is currently no tangible incentive for viewers to pay attention to the placed products, nor are there reliable mechanisms for companies to determine whether viewers notice or are responding to the advertising for which they expend resources to create and display. 
     This Background is provided to introduce a brief context for the Summary and Detailed Description that follow. This Background is not intended to be an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter nor be viewed as limiting the claimed subject matter to implementations that solve any or all of the disadvantages or problems presented above. 
     SUMMARY 
     A cloud-based service provides incentives for users of client devices such as game consoles, personal computers, smartphones, and the like to explicitly acknowledge product placements within media content by offering rewards to the users that may be obtained by performing certain user actions as the media content is being consumed and rendered on the device. The user actions may comprise clicking a button or performing a gesture to an input device, for example, at particular times in the media content presentation in which a branded product is shown, mentioned, or used. A client component on the device captures the user actions as signals which are sent to the service which compares the signals against known reward criteria. If reward criteria are met by the user actions, the service can provide either digital or physical rewards to the user. 
     In various illustrative examples, the reward criteria are expressed through rules that may be formulated by a brand owner who has advertising in the form of product placements in media content such as television shows and movies. The rules are used to derive metadata that is sent to the client device along with the media content and used to create an advertising acknowledgement user experience. Reward offers and the corresponding user actions to be performed to obtain the rewards can be populated into a user interface hosted on the client device and shown to the user as instructions. As user actions are performed during the course of the media content consumption, the user interface may be configured, for example, to indicate the progress made towards a reward and indicate when a reward has been achieved. The service can track explicit product advertising acknowledgements among a population of users and generate reports that include measureable indicators of a given product placement&#39;s reach with the population. 
     Advantageously, the present incentives for acknowledging product advertising empowers brand owners to reward consumers for explicitly acknowledging their advertisements within media content and receive quantitative data from the service as to their product placement effectiveness. In addition, the service enables brand owners to define new advertising acknowledgement criteria at any time without adjusting the media content or the in-content advertisements themselves. 
     This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows an illustrative cloud-computing environment in which the present incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content may be implemented; 
         FIG. 2  shows illustrative rules provided by a brand owner that may govern particular incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content; 
         FIG. 3  shows how rules may be utilized to express various advertising acknowledgement criteria; 
         FIG. 4  shows an illustrative arrangement in which media content including metadata is provided by an entertainment service to a client device; 
         FIG. 5  shows an illustrative advertising acknowledgement client that resides on a computing device such as multimedia console; 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an illustrative method that implements incentives for acknowledging product advertisement within media content; 
         FIG. 7  shows an illustrative arrangement in which captured signals are sent to an incentive and reward service; 
         FIG. 8  shows an illustrative arrangement in which the incentive and reward service generates and delivers reports; 
         FIG. 9  is an illustrative functional block diagram of a multimedia console; 
         FIG. 10  is a simplified block diagram of an illustrative computer system such as a personal computer (“PC”) that may be used in part to implement the present incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content; and 
         FIG. 11  shows a block diagram of an illustrative computing platform that may be used in part to implement the incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content. 
     
    
    
     Like reference numerals indicate like elements in the drawings. Elements are not drawn to scale unless otherwise indicated. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an illustrative cloud-computing environment  100  in which the present incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content may be implemented. Users  105  of a variety of client devices  110  including multimedia consoles, mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, personal computers (“PCs”), personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), handheld gaming platforms, personal media players, wearable computers, navigation devices, and the like, which can consume and/or render media content may interact with an entertainment service  115  as well as an incentive and reward service  120  over a network such as the Internet  125 . In some implementations, the entertainment service  115  and the incentive and reward service  120  may be combined into a common service or be operated by a common provider. The incentive and reward service  120  may also be incorporated into an achievement system or service in some cases. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , a brand owner  130  is also present in the environment  100 . The brand owner  130  may own or control one or more brands  135  that are associated with respective products and services. Typically, during pre-production, production, or post-production of media content such as a television show or a movie, for example, the brand owner negotiates an arrangement with the media content producers. The arrangement, commonly termed “product placement” or “product integration,” allows for the brand owner&#39;s product or brand to be displayed, mentioned, or used within the television show or movie. That is, the user can see the product or hear about it while they consume the media content. The show or movie may then be distributed and made available to viewers for consumption on broadcast and cable television, at theaters, or online through various services such as the entertainment service  115 . Such integrated or placed branded products and services are referred to as “advertising” in the description that follows and it is noted that use of the term “product advertising” is intended to be applicable to either products or services. 
     It is emphasized that with the present incentives for acknowledging product advertising, there is no need that the product placement be implemented for a given show or movie at any particular time. Media content often has a long life expectancy and it is not unusual that media content be in demand for many years and even decades. Accordingly, it is possible that either or both older and newer media content includes existing product placements that are of interest to the brand owner  130 . It is further emphasized that no changes need to be made to the media content itself, or the embedded advertising in order to implement the present incentives for acknowledging product advertising. That is, while an additional dimension of interactivity is provided to the user in order to participate in advertising acknowledgement and gain a reward, the users  105  can otherwise interact and consume the media content as they always have and the content looks and behaves conventionally. 
       FIG. 2  shows illustrative rules  205 , provided by the brand owner  130 , that may govern particular incentives for a given piece of media content. The rules  205  are typically provided by the brand owner  130  to the entertainment service  115 . However, in some cases, the rules  205  may be furnished to the incentive and reward service  120  which can forward the rules  205  to the entertainment service  115 . The incentive and reward service  120  may edit or supplement the rules in some implementations, and the service  120  may also generate rules on behalf of brand owner  130  or in collaboration with the brand owner. Likewise, the entertainment service  115  may also contribute to rule generation, and collaboration between all the entities shown in  FIG. 2  may also be implemented in some scenarios. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the rules  205  may be utilized to express advertising acknowledgement criteria  310  (i.e., reward criteria). The advertising acknowledgement criteria  310  are typically instantiated on a media content title-by-title basis so that the criteria will be different for different television shows and movies. However, in some scenarios, the same advertising acknowledgement criteria can be utilized across multiple media content titles. The brand owner  130  may tailor the advertising acknowledgement criteria  310  to meet particular objectives so it is possible that not all of the criteria shown in  FIG. 3  will be used in every situation and it is further possible that the brand owner may choose to utilize advertising acknowledgement criteria that are not shown or described herein. 
     The advertising acknowledgement criteria  310 , in this illustrative example, include user actions  315 , media timecodes  320 , and time limits  325 . The advertising acknowledgement criteria  310  can also include reward information  330 , and various digital assets  335 . The user actions  315  comprise a description of the various actions a user  105  ( FIG. 1 ) can take during the course of media content consumption in order to obtain one or more rewards (as described in the reward information  330 ). The brand owner  130  ( FIG. 1 ) can choose user actions to be used for a given media content title from among a broad scope of possible actions. For example, the user  105  may be asked to perform some type of input action to a client device  110  every time the user sees a particular product X. The input action could include a button push, voice input, or input gesture depending on the particular type of input devices supported on a given client device  110 . In the case of a multimedia console that is equipped with motion-capture capability as well as traditional controllers, the requested input action could include a press of a button on the controller, or a wave of a hand that is captured by a motion-capture device. 
     The media timecodes  320  may be utilized by the brand owner  130  to provide additional specificity to the advertising acknowledgement criteria  310 . For example, the media timecodes  320  may specify a particular time, or time interval in the media content title in which a user action is requested. Here, to be eligible for the reward, the user  105  could be asked to perform a button push on the client device  110  within a 10 second window when the user sees product X seven minutes and three seconds after a particular television show begins. 
     The time limits  325  may be utilized by the brand owner  130  to provide additional specificity to the advertising acknowledgement criteria  310  so that the user  105  can participate in advertising acknowledgement and be eligible to receive a reward only at certain specified times. For example, the time limits  325  could specify a date after which participation is restricted, times of the day and/or days of the week that participation is enabled, the number of rewards that can be obtained within a particular time interval, and the like. The brand owner  130  may also specify other eligibility criteria that are not time-related such as the imposition of restrictions on the total number of rewards received by a given user, or awarded for a given media content title, for example. 
     The reward information  330  may be utilized by the brand owner  130  to provide details about the particular reward being offered including what is being offered. In some cases, the brand owner may specify the advertising acknowledgement criteria  310  so that a reward can be earned after the user performs a single user action. In other cases, the reward may be earned only after multiple user actions are performed. The brand owner  130  may also specify the criteria  310  in a way that a user is asked to perform user actions across multiple media consumption sessions and/or across multiple titles in order to be eligible to receive a reward. 
     The brand owner  130  may specify digital assets  335  such as particular media objects including graphics, text, sounds, video, animations, and the like that may be associated with a particular brand and which may be utilized at the client device when building a user experience as part of advertising acknowledgement. For example, such media objects can be variously rendered to the user  105  at the client device  110  when the user is informed about the reward opportunities when consuming a media content title, during user actions, and when rewards are successfully achieved. 
     In an illustrative example, as shown in  FIG. 4 , a user  405  of a multimedia console  410  receives a piece of media content  415  from the entertainment service  115 , for example as a download or as content that is streamed to the console over the Internet  125 . The media content  415  is associated with metadata  420  that is included as a portion of the download or stream to the multimedia console  410 . The metadata  420  is utilized at the multimedia console  410  to create the advertising acknowledgement user experience for the media content  415 . 
     Typically, the metadata includes information that is derived from the advertising acknowledgement criteria  310  ( FIG. 3 ) specified by the brand owner. For example, the metadata  420  may be utilized and/or include code to generate the user interface, populate the user interface with information (including text, graphics, and animations in some cases) about the rewards being offered, the user actions to be taken to receive a reward, the timeframes during which users may participate and be eligible to receive rewards. The user interface can also be configured to display media and/or control objects such as user selectable virtual buttons at an appropriate timecode during media content presentation so that the user can press the button to acknowledge that product advertising has been viewed. The user interface may also be used to show how close a user may be to achieving an reward, when a reward has been achieved, as well as provide other ways for the user to interact with the incentive and reward service  120 . 
       FIG. 5  shows an illustrative architecture  500  of functional components that may be instantiated on a client device such as the multimedia console  410 . The architecture  500  is typically implemented in software, although combinations of software, firmware, and/or hardware may also be utilized in some cases. The architecture  500  is arranged in layers and includes an application layer  505 , an OS (operating system) layer  510 , and a hardware layer  515 . The hardware layer  515  provides an abstraction of the various hardware used by the multimedia console  410  (e.g., input and output devices, networking hardware, etc.) to the layers above it. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , the application layer  505  supports a variety of native applications  535   1, 2 . . . N  that are generally implemented using locally executing code for the most part. In some cases, however, the native applications  535  may also rely on services and/or remote code execution provided by remote servers. The application layer  505 , in this example, supports an advertising acknowledgement client  520  that captures the user signals that are generated during the user&#39;s interaction with the media content when acknowledging advertising and sends them to the incentive and reward service  120 . The signals are typically implemented to be representative of user&#39;s actions, inputs, behaviors, and the like so that the interaction can be subsequently compared against the advertising acknowledgement criteria  310  ( FIG. 3 ) specified by the brand owner to determine reward eligibility. The advertising acknowledgement client  520  may also be configured in some implementations to use the metadata  420  ( FIG. 4 ) to create the advertising acknowledgement user experience either substantially on its own, or in combination with other components that are running on the multimedia console  410 . 
     The advertising acknowledgement client  520  may be instantiated as a standalone component and/or be incorporated within an application  535  or a media content application  540  which is associated with the entertainment service  115  ( FIG. 1 ) which also typically resides in the application layer  505 . Alternatively, the advertising acknowledgement client may be distributed across multiple components in the application layer  505 . While the advertising acknowledgement client  520  resides in the application layer  505  in this illustrative example, in alternative arrangements the advertising acknowledgement client  520  may be incorporated in various components in the OS layer  510  or hardware layer  515 , or its functionality distributed across two or more layers in the architecture  500 . 
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart of an illustrative method  600  for implementing incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content. The reader may wish to refer to  FIG. 7  as the discussion of flowchart  600  is presented below. Unless specifically stated, the methods or steps shown in the flowchart and described below are not constrained to a particular order or sequence. In addition, some of the methods or steps thereof can occur or be performed concurrently and not all the methods or steps have to be performed in a given implementation depending on the requirements of such implementation and some methods or steps may be optionally utilized. 
     At block  605  in  FIG. 6 , the entertainment service  115  provides a piece of media content  415  along with metadata  420  to the client multimedia console  410 . Typically, when the media content  415  loads and/or begins playing, advertising and acknowledgement instructions are populated into a user interface that is hosted on the client multimedia console, as indicated at block  610 . The instructions may be generated using information in the received metadata  420  and be used to inform the user  405  about the rewards being offered and the user actions that can be taken to obtain them. The instructions are typically recallable upon user request as the media content is consumed or may be periodically displayed as the media content is rendered to remind the user of reward opportunities. 
     At block  615 , the user  405  consumes the media content  415  and performs user actions as product advertising occurs during the course of the consumption. At block  620 , the advertising acknowledgement client  520  captures signals that are representative of the user actions, in response to product advertising, that are performed as the media content  415  is rendered. At block  625 , the advertising acknowledgement client  520  sends the captured signals  705  to the incentive and reward service  120  which will typically archive the captured signals in a store  710 , at block  630 . 
     At block  635 , the incentive and reward service  120  analyzes the captured signals  705  and in view of the rules  205  and advertising acknowledgement criteria  310 , to determine if criteria to obtain a reward have been met by the user&#39;s actions. In typical implementations, the incentive and reward service will perform a review and analysis of captured signals in an automated manner without the need for intervention by a human operator. However, in some cases an administrator  715  may perform some amount of manual review, for example, if an unusual fact pattern emerges, or to ensure system performance and quality. 
     At decision block  640 , if the criteria have been met for a reward, then at block  645  the incentive and reward service  120  can send a reward  720  to the user  405  which can either be embodied as a digital reward  725 , a physical reward  730 , or a combination of digital and physical. In the case of a digital reward  725 , the incentive and reward service  120  can typically fulfill the reward directly. For example, the digital reward can include points in a travel club, frequent flyer miles, electronic coupons for goods, vacations and services, media content (e.g., a free television show or movie stream or download), virtual badges, artwork, screen savers, sneak peek content, early access to content, subscription extensions, and the like, as the brand owner deems appropriate. It is emphasized that the foregoing list is intended to be illustrative and that the digital rewards may comprise any of a variety of rewards having any value and are not limited to only these illustrative examples. 
     In the case of physical rewards  730 , the incentive and reward service  120  may provide fulfillment instructions to the user so that the physical reward can be redeemed. For example, the instructions can direct the user to a third party website and include a promotion code or similar device that enables the user to place an order for the physical reward. Alternatively, the instructions may direct the user to a convenient physical facility for reward fulfillment. As with the digital rewards  725 , the physical rewards  730  are not limited and can take any form, from stickers to automobiles, as the brand owner deems appropriate. 
     If at decision block  640  the reward criteria have not been met, then control returns back to block  615  as shown. At decision block  650 , if the user has not completed consumption of the media control returns back to block  615 . If consumption is complete then at block  655 , the incentive and reward service  120  can generate and deliver various types of reports. For example, the reports may include statistical or other data that represents the number of users who sent signals indicating that they have explicitly acknowledged advertising within media content over some time interval and the trending of such acknowledgements by media content title. Similarly, the incentive and reward service  120  may include data in the reports that represents the number of users who did not explicitly acknowledge the advertising, and the trending by media content title. As shown in  FIG. 8 , the incentive and reward service  120  may transmit reports  805  to one or both of the entertainment service  115  and content brand owner  130 . 
       FIG. 9  is an illustrative functional block diagram of the multimedia console  410  shown in  FIGS. 4 ,  5 , and  7 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , the multimedia console  410  has a central processing unit (CPU)  901  having a level 1 cache  902 , a level 2 cache  904 , and a Flash ROM (Read Only Memory)  906 . The level 1 cache  902  and the level 2 cache  904  temporarily store data and hence reduce the number of memory access cycles, thereby improving processing speed and throughput. The CPU  901  may be configured with more than one core, and thus, additional level 1 and level 2 caches  902  and  904 . The Flash ROM  906  may store executable code that is loaded during an initial phase of a boot process when the multimedia console  410  is powered ON. 
     A graphics processing unit (GPU)  908  and a video encoder/video codec (coder/decoder)  914  form a video processing pipeline for high speed and high resolution graphics processing. Data is carried from the GPU  908  to the video encoder/video codec  914  via a bus. The video processing pipeline outputs data to an A/V (audio/video) port  940  for transmission to a television or other display. A memory controller  910  is connected to the GPU  908  to facilitate processor access to various types of memory  912 , such as, but not limited to, a RAM. 
     The multimedia console  410  includes an I/O controller  920 , a system management controller  922 , an audio processing unit  923 , a network interface controller  924 , a first USB host controller  926 , a second USB controller  928 , and a front panel I/O subassembly  930  that are preferably implemented on a module  918 . The USB controllers  926  and  928  serve as hosts for peripheral controllers  942 ( 1 )- 942 ( 2 ), a wireless adapter  948 , and an external memory device  946  (e.g., Flash memory, external CD/DVD ROM drive, removable media, etc.). The network interface controller  924  and/or wireless adapter  948  provide access to a network (e.g., the Internet, home network, etc.) and may be any of a wide variety of various wired or wireless adapter components including an Ethernet card, a modem, a Bluetooth module, a cable modem, or the like. 
     System memory  943  is provided to store application data that is loaded during the boot process. A media drive  944  is provided and may comprise a DVD/CD drive, hard drive, or other removable media drive, etc. The media drive  944  may be internal or external to the multimedia console  410 . Application data may be accessed via the media drive  944  for execution, playback, etc. by the multimedia console  410 . The media drive  944  is connected to the I/O controller  920  via a bus, such as a Serial ATA bus or other high speed connection (e.g., IEEE 1394). 
     The system management controller  922  provides a variety of service functions related to assuring availability of the multimedia console  410 . The audio processing unit  923  and an audio codec  932  form a corresponding audio processing pipeline with high fidelity and stereo processing. Audio data is carried between the audio processing unit  923  and the audio codec  932  via a communication link. The audio processing pipeline outputs data to the A/V port  940  for reproduction by an external audio player or device having audio capabilities. 
     The front panel I/O subassembly  930  supports the functionality of the power button  950  and the eject button  952 , as well as any LEDs (light emitting diodes) or other indicators exposed on the outer surface of the multimedia console  410 . A system power supply module  936  provides power to the components of the multimedia console  410 . A fan  938  cools the circuitry within the multimedia console  410 . 
     The CPU  901 , GPU  908 , memory controller  910 , and various other components within the multimedia console  410  are interconnected via one or more buses, including serial and parallel buses, a memory bus, a peripheral bus, and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example, such architectures can include a Peripheral Component Interconnects (PCI) bus, PCI-Express bus, etc. 
     When the multimedia console  410  is powered ON, application data may be loaded from the system memory  943  into memory  912  and/or caches  902  and  904  and executed on the CPU  901 . The application may present a graphical user interface that provides a consistent user experience when navigating to different media types available on the multimedia console  410 . In operation, applications and/or other media contained within the media drive  944  may be launched or played from the media drive  944  to provide additional functionalities to the multimedia console  410 . 
     The multimedia console  410  may be operated as a standalone system by simply connecting the system to a television or other display. In this standalone mode, the multimedia console  410  allows one or more users to interact with the system, watch movies, or listen to music. However, with the integration of broadband connectivity made available through the network interface controller  99  or the wireless adapter  948 , the multimedia console  410  may further be operated as a participant in a larger network community. 
     When the multimedia console  410  is powered ON a set amount of hardware resources are reserved for system use by the multimedia console operating system. These resources may include a reservation of memory (e.g., 16 MB), CPU and GPU cycles (e.g., 5%), networking bandwidth (e.g., 8 kbs), etc. Because these resources are reserved at system boot time, the reserved resources do not exist from the application&#39;s view. 
     In particular, the memory reservation is typically large enough to contain the launch kernel, concurrent system applications, and drivers. The CPU reservation is preferably constant such that if the reserved CPU usage is not used by the system applications, an idle thread will consume any unused cycles. 
     With regard to the GPU reservation, lightweight messages generated by the system applications (e.g., pop-ups) are displayed by using a GPU interrupt to schedule code to render pop-ups into an overlay. The amount of memory needed for an overlay depends on the overlay area size, and the overlay preferably scales with screen resolution. Where a full user interface is used by the concurrent system application, it is preferable to use a resolution independent of application resolution. A scaler may be used to set this resolution such that the need to change frequency and cause a TV re-sync is eliminated. 
     After the multimedia console  410  boots and system resources are reserved, concurrent system applications execute to provide system functionalities. The system functionalities are encapsulated in a set of system applications that execute within the reserved system resources described above. The operating system kernel identifies threads that are system application threads versus gaming application threads. The system applications are preferably scheduled to run on the CPU  901  at predetermined times and intervals in order to provide a consistent system resource view to the application. The scheduling is to minimize cache disruption for the gaming application running on the console. 
     When a concurrent system application requires audio, audio processing is scheduled asynchronously to the gaming application due to time sensitivity. A multimedia console application manager (described below) controls the gaming application audio level (e.g., mute, attenuate) when system applications are active. 
     Input devices (e.g., controllers  942 ( 1 ) and  942 ( 2 )) are shared by gaming applications and system applications. The input devices are not reserved resources, but are to be switched between system applications and the gaming application such that each will have a focus of the device. The application manager preferably controls the switching of input stream, without knowledge of the gaming application&#39;s knowledge and a driver maintains state information regarding focus switches. The capture device  113  may define additional input devices for the console  410 . 
       FIG. 10  is a simplified block diagram of an illustrative computer system  1000  such as a PC, client device, or server with which the present incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content may be implemented. Computer system  1000  includes a processing unit  1005 , a system memory  1011 , and a system bus  1014  that couples various system components including the system memory  1011  to the processing unit  1005 . The system bus  1014  may be any of several types of bus structures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory  1011  includes read only memory (“ROM”)  1017  and random access memory (“RAM”)  1021 . A basic input/output system (“BIOS”)  1025 , containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computer system  1000 , such as during startup, is stored in ROM  1017 . The computer system  1000  may further include a hard disk drive  1028  for reading from and writing to an internally disposed hard disk (not shown), a magnetic disk drive  1030  for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk  1033  (e.g., a floppy disk), and an optical disk drive  1038  for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk  1043  such as a CD (compact disc), DVD (digital versatile disc), or other optical media. The hard disk drive  1028 , magnetic disk drive  1030 , and optical disk drive  1038  are connected to the system bus  1014  by a hard disk drive interface  1046 , a magnetic disk drive interface  1049 , and an optical drive interface  1052 , respectively. The drives and their associated computer readable storage media provide non-volatile storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the computer system  1000 . Although this illustrative example shows a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk  1033 , and a removable optical disk  1043 , other types of computer readable storage media which can store data that is accessible by a computer such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, data cartridges, random access memories (“RAMs”), read only memories (“ROMs”), and the like may also be used in some applications of the present incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content. In addition, as used herein, the term computer readable storage media includes one or more instances of a media type (e.g., one or more magnetic disks, one or more CDs, etc.). For purposes of this specification and the claims, the phrase “computer-readable storage media” and variations thereof, does not include waves, signals, and/or other transitory and/or intangible communication media. 
     A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk, magnetic disk  1033 , optical disk  1043 , ROM  1017 , or RAM  1021 , including an operating system  1055 , one or more application programs  1057 , other program modules  1060 , and program data  1063 . A user may enter commands and information into the computer system  1000  through input devices such as a keyboard  1066  and pointing device  1068  such as a mouse. Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, trackball, touchpad, touch screen, touch-sensitive module or device, gesture-recognition module or device, voice recognition module or device, voice command module or device, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  1005  through a serial port interface  1071  that is coupled to the system bus  1014 , but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or universal serial bus (“USB”). A monitor  1073  or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus  1014  via an interface, such as a video adapter  1075 . In addition to the monitor  1073 , personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers. The illustrative example shown in  FIG. 10  also includes a host adapter  1078 , a Small Computer System Interface (“SCSI”) bus  1083 , and an external storage device  1076  connected to the SCSI bus  1083 . 
     The computer system  1000  is operable in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer  1088 . The remote computer  1088  may be selected as another personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device, or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computer system  1000 , although only a single representative remote memory/storage device  1090  is shown in  FIG. 10 . The logical connections depicted in  FIG. 10  include a local area network (“LAN”)  1093  and a wide area network (“WAN”)  1095 . Such networking environments are often deployed, for example, in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet. 
     When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer system  1000  is connected to the local area network  1093  through a network interface or adapter  1096 . When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer system  1000  typically includes a broadband modem  1098 , network gateway, or other means for establishing communications over the wide area network  1095 , such as the Internet. The broadband modem  1098 , which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus  1014  via a serial port interface  1071 . In a networked environment, program modules related to the computer system  1000 , or portions thereof, may be stored in the remote memory storage device  1090 . It is noted that the network connections shown in  FIG. 10  are illustrative and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used depending on the specific requirements of an application of incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content. 
     It may be desirable and/or advantageous to enable other types of computing platforms other than the multimedia console  410  to implement the present incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content in some applications. For example, a game and signal capture client may be readily adapted to run on various fixed computing platforms and mobile computing platforms.  FIG. 11  shows an illustrative architecture  1100  for a computing platform or device capable of executing the various components described herein for providing incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content. Thus, the architecture  1100  illustrated in  FIG. 11  shows an architecture that may be adapted for a server computer, mobile phone, a PDA (personal digital assistant), a smartphone, a desktop computer, a netbook computer, a tablet computer, GPS (Global Positioning System) device, gaming console, and/or a laptop computer. The architecture  1100  may be utilized to execute any aspect of the components presented herein. 
     The architecture  1100  illustrated in  FIG. 11  includes a CPU  1102 , a system memory  1104 , including a RAM  1106  and a ROM  1108 , and a system bus  1110  that couples the memory  1104  to the CPU  1102 . A basic input/output system containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the architecture  1100 , such as during startup, is stored in the ROM  1108 . The architecture  1100  further includes a mass storage device  1112  for storing software code or other computer-executed code that is utilized to implement applications, the file system, and the operating system. 
     The mass storage device  1112  is connected to the CPU  1102  through a mass storage controller (not shown) connected to the bus  1110 . The mass storage device  1112  and its associated computer-readable storage media provide non-volatile storage for the architecture  1100 . Although the description of computer-readable storage media contained herein refers to a mass storage device, such as a hard disk or CD-ROM drive, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that computer-readable media can be any available computer storage media that can be accessed by the architecture  1100 . 
     By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable storage media may include volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. For example, computer-readable media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory), EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory), Flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVDs, HD-DVD (High Definition DVD), BLU-RAY, or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by the architecture  1100 . 
     According to various embodiments, the architecture  1100  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to remote computers through a network. The architecture  1100  may connect to the network through a network interface unit  1116  connected to the bus  1110 . It should be appreciated that the network interface unit  1116  also may be utilized to connect to other types of networks and remote computer systems. The architecture  1100  also may include an input/output controller  1118  for receiving and processing input from a number of other devices, including a keyboard, mouse, or electronic stylus (not shown in  FIG. 11 ). Similarly, the input/output controller  1118  may provide output to a display screen, a printer, or other type of output device (also not shown in  FIG. 11 ). 
     It should be appreciated that the software components described herein may, when loaded into the CPU  1102  and executed, transform the CPU  1102  and the overall architecture  1100  from a general-purpose computing system into a special-purpose computing system customized to facilitate the functionality presented herein. The CPU  1102  may be constructed from any number of transistors or other discrete circuit elements, which may individually or collectively assume any number of states. More specifically, the CPU  1102  may operate as a finite-state machine, in response to executable instructions contained within the software modules disclosed herein. These computer-executable instructions may transform the CPU  1102  by specifying how the CPU  1102  transitions between states, thereby transforming the transistors or other discrete hardware elements constituting the CPU  1102 . 
     Encoding the software modules presented herein also may transform the physical structure of the computer-readable storage media presented herein. The specific transformation of physical structure may depend on various factors, in different implementations of this description. Examples of such factors may include, but are not limited to, the technology used to implement the computer-readable storage media, whether the computer-readable storage media is characterized as primary or secondary storage, and the like. For example, if the computer-readable storage media is implemented as semiconductor-based memory, the software disclosed herein may be encoded on the computer-readable storage media by transforming the physical state of the semiconductor memory. For example, the software may transform the state of transistors, capacitors, or other discrete circuit elements constituting the semiconductor memory. The software also may transform the physical state of such components in order to store data thereupon. 
     As another example, the computer-readable storage media disclosed herein may be implemented using magnetic or optical technology. In such implementations, the software presented herein may transform the physical state of magnetic or optical media, when the software is encoded therein. These transformations may include altering the magnetic characteristics of particular locations within given magnetic media. These transformations also may include altering the physical features or characteristics of particular locations within given optical media to change the optical characteristics of those locations. Other transformations of physical media are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present description, with the foregoing examples provided only to facilitate this discussion. 
     In light of the above, it should be appreciated that many types of physical transformations take place in the architecture  1100  in order to store and execute the software components presented herein. It also should be appreciated that the architecture  1100  may include other types of computing devices, including hand-held computers, embedded computer systems, smartphones, PDAs, and other types of computing devices known to those skilled in the art. It is also contemplated that the architecture  1100  may not include all of the components shown in  FIG. 11 , may include other components that are not explicitly shown in  FIG. 11 , or may utilize an architecture completely different from that shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     Based on the foregoing, it should be appreciated that technologies for incentives for acknowledging product advertising within media content have been disclosed herein. Although the subject matter presented herein has been described in language specific to computer structural features, methodological and transformative acts, specific computing machinery, and computer readable storage media, it is to be understood that the invention defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features, acts, or media described herein. Rather, the specific features, acts and mediums are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims. 
     The subject matter described above is provided by way of illustration only and should not be construed as limiting. Various modifications and changes may be made to the subject matter described herein without following the example embodiments and applications illustrated and described, and without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention, which is set forth in the following claims.