This study explores the effectiveness of advergames before their use. We suggest advertising legitimacy plays a role on attitudes toward the brand and the game and on behavioral intents to purchase the brand and play the game. Specifically, we propose congruency and transparency as antecedents of advergame legitimacy. Results of two experiments showed that high level of transparency, allowed by brand prominence in the game, leads to better results for both the advergame and the brand. The relationship between transparency and legitimacy is moderated by brand-game congruency. Our results provide insights for advertisers in guiding their choices dealing with the advergame design and inviting them to consider that their characteristics such as brand prominence may impact brand outcomes even when the advergame is not used.
