MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Judging continues here at the In-Game Ads Awards: still the first and only industry awards that recognize totally fictional ads for totally fictional brands within video game worlds.
In this edition of The In-Game Ads Awards, we’re thrilled to have none other than Alice Chou as guest judge: a well-loved and highly respected creative leader, Chief Creative Officer of Dentsu Creative Taiwan, and Chair of the Dentsu APAC Creative Council.
Alice led her team to win Taiwan’s very first Cannes Lions Grand Prix and has also served as a judge for the same prestigious show. She’s chaired juries at D&AD, Spikes Asia, and ADFEST, so she definitely knows a thing or two when it comes to judging great creative work! Let’s see what she thinks about this in-game ad from the open-world game Infamous Second Son by Sucker Punch Productions. Set in a fictional Seattle filled with ads for entirely made-up brands (in fact, the previous judging session also featured work from this fictional world!) the game gave Alice the perfect opportunity to critique a particular digital film playing on one of its many in-game LED billboards.
Here’s why Alice thinks ‘Delusional Book’ is a cultural signal:
Press start to question reality
Gaming isn’t an escape from reality anymore — it is a reality. A cultural playground. A living, breathing parallel universe. One that mirrors our dreams, exaggerates our emotions, and invents its own logic. It has its own crowds, codes, cravings — and sometimes, feelings that feel more real than real life.
In this expanding cosmos, creativity doesn’t just cross borders — it crosses dimensions. The best ideas no longer live in just the real world; they live on loading screens, pop up on pixelated posters, and hide in the corners of code. And when advertising enters the game, it shouldn’t break the spell — it should become part of it. The finest work speaks fluent gamer, slipping into the story without a sound, riding each pulse-pounding moment until, somehow, you’ve felt the message before you’ve even read it.
Unlike most in-game ads, Delusion Book doesn’t just play along — it plays with perception. Framed as a digital film, it channels the glitchy, hyperreal textures of our algorithm-fed lives. Chaotic subtitles. A jarring soundtrack. Rhythms that spike and spiral. It captures that twitchy space where our feeds end and our feelings begin.
But this isn’t just visual noise — it’s a cultural signal. Beneath the surrealism lies a quiet question: Are we all caught in a collective delusion? The ad doesn’t parody digital life — it performs it. Set inside Infamous: Second Son, it becomes a fictional social platform that eerily mirrors our craving for digital applause.
It’s clever. A little weird. It makes you smile — then second-guess that smile. A compact, reality-bending piece of storytelling. If the fictional brand had tied more closely to the game’s core narrative, the impact might have gone further. Still, as an in-game ad, it’s a bold and thoughtful experiment.
About Alice Chou
A lion, a Sherpa, a boss who isn’t bossy, and a prime number. Alice Chou, who has been described as all of above. Alice is as persistent as a lion on the prowl when exploring new territories, and she acts like a Sherpa guiding young talent onto international stage without arrogance. Her pursuit of creative excellence is likened to a prime number that cannot be divided.
She was named Campaign Asia’s Creative Leader of the Year (2024), a Leading Woman by Ad Age (2023), one of the ADWEEK Creative 100 (2021), and Taiwan’s Outstanding Creative Person (2017, 2021). She was recognized as one of Campaign Asia-Pacific‘s “Women to Watch” (2018).
Alice led the team to bag Taiwan first-ever Cannes Lions Grand Prix, and holds the country’s record for the most creative accolades, including 8 Grand Prix at ADFEST, ADSTARS and other major APAC creative awards in Asia-Pacific.
She was also the first person from Taiwan to serve as the Cannes Lions jury three times and has chaired juries at D&AD, ADFEST, and Spikes Asia. Alice increased Taiwan’s creative visibility and shared the country’s unique perspective with the world.
About the In-Game Ads Awards
The In-Game Ads Awards is the first and only advertising industry awards of its kind that recognizes the creativity of totally fictional ads for totally fictional brands from across video game worlds, as judged by very real, globally-recognized creative leaders. Winning ads get awarded The Trophies – aptly named after the achievement systems found in video games.
Created by Rey Tiempo, multi-awarded Brand Gamification Specialist, creator of “Game On”, the industry’s only portal on Gaming X Marketing, and a sought-after industry thought leader, representing the Philippines and leading the Gaming conversations on the most prestigious stages across Asia Pacific and beyond. Rey is Chief Creative Officer at Minotaur, a team of gaming, tech, esports, music, and fandom culture drivers and community builders for brands.
Found an interesting mock ad from a game you’re playing? Email us your screenshots at [email protected]
