In-game ads have long been considered a beeline to a younger demographic. Barack Obama famously used ads in Burnout Paradise and other titles to garner support before and throughout his presidency. This type of campaign is a first for the NHS, but equally interesting is the way in which it's being delivered. Football Manager 2018 actually has a unique, native advertising platform run by a company called Bidstack. It's able to target ads based on location, date and time of day, which is why the month-long NHS campaign will only be seen by players in Leeds that can access MindMate's support services.

Last November, Bidstack also partnered with the Movember Foundation to run in-game ads in Football Manager 2018 to raise awareness of men's health issues, particularly testicular and prostate cancer.