The UK's Advertising Standards
Authority (ASA) recently received a trio of complaints about the televised ads for Activision's Call of Duty 2
(PC, Xbox 360) and Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (GameCube, PS2, Xbox). Viewers felt duped because the ads
featured pre-rendered footage that did not reflect the actual in-game graphics of either title. In fact, the
pre-rendered footage was designed solely for these ads—it does not appear in the games.The ASA discovered that the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (responsible for pre-approving UK TV ads) understood that the Call of Duty ads were to use scenes taken from the games themselves. As a result, and despite the fact that Activision argued that using pre-rendered footage was "common practice" in the industry, the ASA has ordered the ads' removal, stating, "They must not be shown again in their present forms." Thankfully, these strict guidelines are not upheld at industry trade shows...
