Mortal Kombat ad deemed irresponsible in the UK

by Jennie Lees { Dec 22nd 2005 at 3:30PM }

A viral advert for Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks has been banned by the UK's Advertising Standards Authority after the watchdog found it "irresponsible" since it "caused serious distress". The ad appeared on two websites, and despite the owners having no complaints, they were made to pull the ad.

The "shocking" content of the advert involved a fight at a board meeting, with one man having his heart ripped out and another being decapitated--both sights that modern gamers are increasingly familiar with, and unlikely to find particularly offensive. With this advertisement being pulled, will the ASA start monitoring other Flash creations on the web? It would keep them very busy if they did, as there are far more shocking animations out there.

Tags: advertising, europe, mortal kombat, MortalKombat, uk

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

George @ Dec 22nd 2005 3:35PM

The ad wasn't that great...

Jago @ Dec 22nd 2005 4:05PM

That ad (while a little shocking) is godamn hilarious...lol...

"You two! FIGHT!!!" lol

GTG @ Dec 22nd 2005 6:56PM

OK, now I really want to see the ad. Thus, the viral phase kicks in. Hot Coffee, anyone?

john @ Dec 22nd 2005 10:16PM

Joystiq, do you think all gamers enjoy gore? I know quite a few gamers, and most don't enjoy over-the-top gore at all. And they don't buy games that contain it. I, and my friends, don't want to get used to hearts being ripped out, and heads being knocked off. And I certainly wouldn't want kids to stumble upon an ad like this.

The bottom line: Joystiq, you need to stop speaking for all gamers with statements such as "modern gamers unlikely to find it offensive." Otherwise, you'll show yourself to be out of touch with a large portion of those same gamers.

Shabran @ Dec 23rd 2005 4:24AM

I TOTALLY DISAGREE with number 4....

The statement "modern gamers unlikely to find it offensive" as said by Joystiq is a common statistic that is being put out through all media...Children are being decensitized and all...

SO GIVE JOYSTIQ A BREAK and let them write what they think is appropriate...You didnt even ask Joystiq that they meant about "modern gamers". They could mean hardcore gamers, they could mean, casual gamers, they could mean average gamers...

So Ask questions first then SHOOT

Darry @ Dec 23rd 2005 9:48AM

@#5

Before you think you're all righteous, realize that he was voicing his concern over a GENERAL statement that includes him that all "modern gamers" enjoy peoples body parts being removed, and that you agreed that JS did that using their "common statistics", and for the record, JS didnt say "They could mean hardcore gamers, they could mean, casual gamers, they could mean average gamers..." they said MODERN GAMERS, dufus.

Lastly, I agree with 4 any ad that makes people laugh or enjoy that nonsense as a joke should be pulled down, because the media is for the GENERAL public, ALL persons have to fit in that statement, I and many others do not. Kick the ad in its arse.

jennie @ Dec 23rd 2005 2:01PM

#4 - The "modern gamers" was in reference to a recent study that showed the effects games have in desensitising people to violence. Click through and read it, it's a good story. I didn't mean to tar all gamers with the same brush, merely refer to the study.

#6 - The ad was only put on two sites, one targeted at other viral marketers, and one targeted at an 18-30 male demographic. Sure, there's being responsible for what the general public watches, but there's a fine line between the nanny state second-guessing people -- you'll note that neither of the websites received any complaints about the ad -- and withdrawing truly offensive content.

Leturbo @ Dec 23rd 2005 2:10PM

I think the add would have been hilarious... but I agree somewhat that ads shouldn't contain these sorts of things... put it in the game, rate it M or whatever...

Publishers and developers need to act a little more responsibly when it comes to these issues. If people want to J.O. over gore or whatever, rent the games and see the movies. Fine by me! I J.O. over gore all the time! Just don't start advertising it.