If one of the crucial demographics in the coming Presidential election turns out to be the usually-disengaged young American male, we’ll know what brought him to the polling stations: In-game political advertising on popular Electronic Arts videogames, a first for the medium.

And that would be the Democrats doing the ad-buying:

Only gamers playing online in 10 states can see the ads, which appear as stadium signage or billboards, [EA director of corporate communications Holly] Rockwood said. (The ads are downloaded when gamers log on to the Xbox Internet service.) Unsurprisingly, all 10 states are swing states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. President Bush won all of those states in 2004 except for Wisconsin…

Technology blogs this week had reported on ads popping up in the racing game “Burnout Paradise.” In the game, racers drive by a billboard that features the Obama’s mug next to the words “Early Voting Has Begun/VoteForChange.com.”

Naturally, the McCain campaign was offered equal time, but declined. If there’s some measurable impact, you can safely bet the GOP will pony up the dough in ‘12.

I wonder if the Obama campaign is offering gamers extra 1-UP credits for voting early? Probably would violate some sort of electioneering rules.

UPDATE: This just in, the McCain camp has reconsidered, and is joining in on the videogaming poli-ad revolution! Here’s an exclusive screenshot of one of the ad spots for the Republican hopeful, urging the youngsters to have some respect for the Arizona Senator’s immaculately-maintained virtual soccer pitch:

(Yes, this “update” is wholly and completely a fabricated joke. Lighten up. And get off my lawn, you kids!)