I got an email just yesterday pitching me on a special 'credit card for gamers'. I was meant to push a special credit card to my customers. The website has zero information on what % interest this credit card has, but even if it's totally normal and above-board: eww. I make computer games, I don't want to push credit cards.
It's all so slimy.
I had a "friend" (more of an acquaintance really) a while back that kept trying to convince me that this was a good idea and I (as the only programmer he knew) should help him do it. Couldn't for the life of me convince him that it was pretty much certain to backfire spectacularly in any number of possible dumpster fires he wouldn't want to be a part of. He just wasn't willing to see how sneaking crypto-mining software into other people machines without their knowledge could possibly be perceived as "bad" by anyone.
Yet take a sitcom such as Seinfeld. Each product they joked about, junior mints, snapple, etc were ads.
The furniture is an ad. The appliances, the cereal on the shelf, etc. If no ads, generic boxes and unbranded products will appear instead, nothing is free.
I am not saying videogames should be this way, merely pointing out that this is old, old almost century old advertising behaviour. The trick is to made the product better for it (Seinfeld junior mints was an incredibly funny episode).
Of course, I think the CC thing you mention, was more just a "spam your users", so hardly subtle and non-intrusive.
EG, on TV typically they write the episode, then after marketing says "ah look, he's supposed to drink a soda here, let's see who wants to pay for someone drinking their soda."
This I can live with.
I also have no problem with product placement in tv shows and movies. At least, so long as they don't force a change in the plot of the movie. Creative integrity has to be maintained.
Ads, on the other hand... Ugh. I hate them so much. They are incredibly manipulative and it seems like they all border on straight up lying now.
Right now I am doing "corporate identity" for a shared kitchen and I'm using product logos (e.g. "Dawn", "Cuisinart") as much as I can because I think it will improve compliance with instructions. (Not getting paid by them though)