The ITC (Independent Television Commission) has banned what can only be described as the best games advert in the industry’s history.
Microsoft’s “Life is Short” commercial features a newborn baby boy that is jettisoned at birth through the delivery room window, across the rooftops. Immediately the baby starts to mature and soon passes through adolescence, complete with voicebreak, through midlife and into old age. As the final cry turns into a croak, the now old man slams into a grave and the “Life is Short” message is emblazoned across the screen.
It is an awesome spectacle. But now it’s banned.
The ITC received 136 complaints about the 20 second film from viewer who described it as “offensive, shocking and in bad taste.”
Many objections came from pregnant women and recently bereaved people.
The ITC said that the scream in the ad “suggested a traumatic experience which, together with the reminder that life is short, made the final scene more shocking.” It went on, “Advertisements cannot be avoided by those who are grieving in the way that programmes whose content is flagged in advance can. In that context it considered that the final scene of a body smashing into its grave was unnecessary and had caused considerable distress to many viewers.”
Microsoft’s defence was simple. The advert was a “positive statement about life,” a view shared by many art, film and game lovers.
The advert will still be shown in cinemas and within Microsoft’s own marketing.
Microsoft’s “Life is Short” commercial features a newborn baby boy that is jettisoned at birth through the delivery room window, across the rooftops. Immediately the baby starts to mature and soon passes through adolescence, complete with voicebreak, through midlife and into old age. As the final cry turns into a croak, the now old man slams into a grave and the “Life is Short” message is emblazoned across the screen.
It is an awesome spectacle. But now it’s banned.
The ITC received 136 complaints about the 20 second film from viewer who described it as “offensive, shocking and in bad taste.”
Many objections came from pregnant women and recently bereaved people.
The ITC said that the scream in the ad “suggested a traumatic experience which, together with the reminder that life is short, made the final scene more shocking.” It went on, “Advertisements cannot be avoided by those who are grieving in the way that programmes whose content is flagged in advance can. In that context it considered that the final scene of a body smashing into its grave was unnecessary and had caused considerable distress to many viewers.”
Microsoft’s defence was simple. The advert was a “positive statement about life,” a view shared by many art, film and game lovers.
The advert will still be shown in cinemas and within Microsoft’s own marketing.
Companies:
Microsoft
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