The Advertising Standards Authority has deemed a Burnout Dominator poster ‘irresponsible’ and banned it following 37 complaints from irate members of the great British public.
The Burnout Dominator posters appeared as part of a London Underground ad campaign, created by advertising agency Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam, featuring a crashed car surrounded by broken glass, bore the the slogan "inner peace through outer violence."
Strangely, SPOnG had spotted it on our recent forays onto the stinking Tube (underground variety not telly-box variety) and thought it was a rather good ad. We tend to agree with EA on this occasion that the tagline was inspired and might "help relieve the stress and tension of the real world". Certainly anything to take your mind away from being trapped underground with millions of rats and stone-faced commuters can only be a good thing, no?
Clearly, many others thought differently. Complainants were concerned that the ads were likely to encourage violence, dangerous driving and antisocial behaviour such as vandalism.
The posters also linked Burnout Dominator to a mythical movement called Kah Ra Shin, devotees of which "join in ritual destruction to rid many angers immediately", according to a website also created to promote the game.
EA has said that it will in future consult more closely with the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) fully to minimise the risk of causing offence in the future.
The Burnout Dominator posters appeared as part of a London Underground ad campaign, created by advertising agency Wieden & Kennedy Amsterdam, featuring a crashed car surrounded by broken glass, bore the the slogan "inner peace through outer violence."
Strangely, SPOnG had spotted it on our recent forays onto the stinking Tube (underground variety not telly-box variety) and thought it was a rather good ad. We tend to agree with EA on this occasion that the tagline was inspired and might "help relieve the stress and tension of the real world". Certainly anything to take your mind away from being trapped underground with millions of rats and stone-faced commuters can only be a good thing, no?
Clearly, many others thought differently. Complainants were concerned that the ads were likely to encourage violence, dangerous driving and antisocial behaviour such as vandalism.
The posters also linked Burnout Dominator to a mythical movement called Kah Ra Shin, devotees of which "join in ritual destruction to rid many angers immediately", according to a website also created to promote the game.
EA has said that it will in future consult more closely with the Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) fully to minimise the risk of causing offence in the future.
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Comments
Joji 27 Jun 2007 10:52
1/2
And the dance goes on. People (non-gaming) are just on the soap box for the sake of it now (probably been told to do so by daytime tv or something). Burnout has been on sale since last year and now they find it offensive.
The climate of fear about games continues.
The climate of fear about games continues.
config 27 Jun 2007 18:31
2/2
37 people is, IMO, not enough of an outcry to warrant even considering an investigation, let alone banning it.
What about the millions of people that saw the ad and, by not complaining, defaulted to the "there's nowt wrong with it" stance? Okay, there might have been a dozen of those that found it mildly irksome yet couldn't be bothered to put pen to paper, but that hardly swings the vote.
The ASA is run by a bunch of monkeys, prolly all very good friends with the baboons at the BBFC
What about the millions of people that saw the ad and, by not complaining, defaulted to the "there's nowt wrong with it" stance? Okay, there might have been a dozen of those that found it mildly irksome yet couldn't be bothered to put pen to paper, but that hardly swings the vote.
The ASA is run by a bunch of monkeys, prolly all very good friends with the baboons at the BBFC