A TV advert for Heavy Rain that aired during coverage of the savage murder of popular Huddersfield business man Gurmail Singh has had complaints about it rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Mr Singh was murdered at his shop in Cowcliffe, Huddersfield, on 20 February - the adverts were aired during the coverage of the crime. One of the ads showed a shopkeeper in the game being assaulted by a customer.
The ASA declared that, "We noted the ads featured alternate endings of a sequence where a bystander could chose how to intervene in a threatening situation. We understood that this was used to demonstrate the interactivity possible with the game, in contrast with games with more structured, linear, narratives. We also noted that the protagonist of the game was a bystander and was not shown actively seeking to perpetrate violent or threatening behaviour. We considered that the scenarios featured in the ads were likely to be viewed as associated with the fictional narrative of the game and the action within it, rather than as real violent situations.
"We acknowledged that some viewers might object to the theme of the game and the inclusion of violent imagery per se. However, we concluded that the ad itself was unlikely to be seen to be encouraging or glamorising violence in a harmful way, or to be likely to cause serious or widespread offence. "
Mr Singh was murdered at his shop in Cowcliffe, Huddersfield, on 20 February - the adverts were aired during the coverage of the crime. One of the ads showed a shopkeeper in the game being assaulted by a customer.
The ASA declared that, "We noted the ads featured alternate endings of a sequence where a bystander could chose how to intervene in a threatening situation. We understood that this was used to demonstrate the interactivity possible with the game, in contrast with games with more structured, linear, narratives. We also noted that the protagonist of the game was a bystander and was not shown actively seeking to perpetrate violent or threatening behaviour. We considered that the scenarios featured in the ads were likely to be viewed as associated with the fictional narrative of the game and the action within it, rather than as real violent situations.
"We acknowledged that some viewers might object to the theme of the game and the inclusion of violent imagery per se. However, we concluded that the ad itself was unlikely to be seen to be encouraging or glamorising violence in a harmful way, or to be likely to cause serious or widespread offence. "
Games:
Heavy Rain
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