SEGA Aliens Colonial Marines Adverts Called Out as Misleading by ASA
Makes sure to mark ads as "works in progress"... surely some mistake.
SEGA's Aliens Colonial Marines wasn't the most beloved game ever, (see our review for example) and the general disappointment in the game was exacerbated by the adverts for it, which were misleading.
They were misleading due to the fact that they appeared to show in-game footage but instead showed footage that used a... sorry... the game engine but was taken from a earlier, much prettier demo. The company has now, apparently, fessed up - but with some weird wording:
Trailers for the game now show the wording, "The trailer footage shown uses the in-game engine, and represents a work in progress." Well, not actually the trailers, but wording close to the trailers, check SEGA's own game page and also the Youtube page for examples.
The strangeness comes in the idea that the footage came from a "work in progress". If so, you would have expected the finished work to reflect the adverts/trailers. At least reddit user subpardave expected that. His complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority apparently resulted in the wording being added.
While there is no mention of it on the ASA's own site in terms of complaints regarding SEGA and rulings, the authority did write to the reddit user (letter here)
In it, the ASA explains that, "SEGA Europe acknowledges your objection that the trailers did not accurately reflect the final content of the game. They agreed to add a disclaimer, both on their website and in all relevant Youtube videos, which explains that the trailers depict footage of the demo versions of the game."
The ASA then, apparently, formally upholds the complaint although that formality does not appear on its website. Anyway, if this is all kosher, let's hope that wording gets changed to, "The footage shown here uses a game engine but never appeared in the final work at all," eh readers.
They were misleading due to the fact that they appeared to show in-game footage but instead showed footage that used a... sorry... the game engine but was taken from a earlier, much prettier demo. The company has now, apparently, fessed up - but with some weird wording:
Trailers for the game now show the wording, "The trailer footage shown uses the in-game engine, and represents a work in progress." Well, not actually the trailers, but wording close to the trailers, check SEGA's own game page and also the Youtube page for examples.
The strangeness comes in the idea that the footage came from a "work in progress". If so, you would have expected the finished work to reflect the adverts/trailers. At least reddit user subpardave expected that. His complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority apparently resulted in the wording being added.
While there is no mention of it on the ASA's own site in terms of complaints regarding SEGA and rulings, the authority did write to the reddit user (letter here)
In it, the ASA explains that, "SEGA Europe acknowledges your objection that the trailers did not accurately reflect the final content of the game. They agreed to add a disclaimer, both on their website and in all relevant Youtube videos, which explains that the trailers depict footage of the demo versions of the game."
The ASA then, apparently, formally upholds the complaint although that formality does not appear on its website. Anyway, if this is all kosher, let's hope that wording gets changed to, "The footage shown here uses a game engine but never appeared in the final work at all," eh readers.
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