Seventeen Brits complain about Wii ad violence
Nintendo's advertising efforts have apparently hurt the company's kid-friendly image with at least a few Britons. An adjudication statement from Britain's Advertising Standards Authority outlines seventeen distinct complaints over the animated violence in an ad for Twilight Princess and Red Steel. One complainant even thought the ad was "reminiscent of recent videos released by hostage-takers in Iraq." Yikes!Fear not, freedom-of-speech loving Brits; the Authority reviewed the content and determined that "the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence. [sic]" Surprisingly, we have yet to hear any similarly official complaints about Sony's excessively weird PS3 ad campaign. Apparently a creepy guy in a jock strap ranks below simulated sword violence on the British disturb-o-meter.
[Via VNUNet]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jack of No Trades @ Mar 30th 2007 12:31PM
Red Steel for the Gamecube was such an ok game.
ill trooper @ Mar 30th 2007 12:32PM
I want to complain about that dorky 'Major Nelson' banner ad on the right-hand side...
Zertoss @ Mar 30th 2007 12:58PM
Of course we know that 1 complaint equals 1 billion people, so 17 billion people were offended by Nintendo's ads.
C. Grant @ Mar 30th 2007 1:03PM
ill trooper: he looks dreamy, right?
csc @ Mar 30th 2007 1:04PM
Meh, so a couple of old ladies complain about the content, no big deal.
At least over here in the Uk we can have crazy abstract ads like cars turning into robots without five minutes of disclaimers telling us that it doesnt actually do that in real life.
fetalscoobydoo @ Mar 30th 2007 1:18PM
@5
I would hardly call small print on the bottom of the screen "five minutes of disclaimers"
Roger @ Mar 30th 2007 1:24PM
man brits are retarded!
dark @ Mar 30th 2007 1:34PM
Jack of No Trades you liar. It’s not on the Gamecube. I just checked. Oh wait, why do I even care, that game looks disgusting anyway.
Corbo @ Mar 30th 2007 1:40PM
Having read the ASA report on the website, I'm happy to see that it was dealt with efficiently and entirely correctly.
As they point out, Twilight Princess is clearly entirely fictional and no actual blood is seen, Not even in Red Steel.
The whole thing seems to have been hugely exaggerated in the eyes of those complaining. Actually, anybody who compares anything to videos released by hostage takers is probably exaggerating. Still, good to see that a government department can take the complaint, process it and dismiss it with out the whole thing becoming about violence in video games.
Corbo @ Mar 30th 2007 1:47PM
Also, it's kind of sad to see how quickly comments on Joystiq can degenerate into slagfests. First post, irrelevant and incorrect fanboy comment and posts 5 and 7 were ignorant and racist.
Also, am I the only one who sees the incredible irony in Roger's comment?
I hate to fuel this kind of stuff, but really... get a grip.
Seth @ Mar 30th 2007 1:48PM
Yeahhh.... you don't need that [sic] in there, guys. That's how they spell "offense" in Britain. Kinda like "colour".
Kye @ Mar 30th 2007 1:51PM
Hey! You can't say that about Red Steel and Zelda!
I own both of those games and they're great! Much better than [your favorite game] on your crappy [insert console here] so there!
(fanboy duty for 30th March: complete)
Seriously though, the Yanks would have a fit if you saw the commercials we get over here in the UK. When we're advertising road safety, we show kids being kit hard by cars. When we're showing how unsafe fireworks can be we show the event and after effects. No holds barred. People fricking DIE in our commercials. Thats real life.
So no, Brits are not retarded, but yanks sure are pampered.
Josh @ Mar 30th 2007 1:52PM
Major Nelson is so emo.
Todd @ Mar 30th 2007 1:55PM
Red Steel for the Wii was so much better.
csc @ Mar 30th 2007 2:39PM
Whoah there corbo, ignorant and racist, please elaborate on that, I was just commenting on the fact that comparing the advertising across the atlantic US commecials have a lot more disclaimers. How is that either ignorant or racist, did I say 'yanks are so stupid they need to be told not to stick soap up their ass' if I did then you could call me ignorant and racist untill the end of time, but it was just a comment on cultural differences, the five minute thing was an exaggeration because it was in a joking fashion.
I mean come on the whole things gets mentioned twice a day with people like jack thompson making the state want to regulate everything and games raising kids instead of parents, personal responsibility and whatnot. Just because I make a comparitive statement about advertising for the same reason it makes me racist and ignorant?
Not trying to fan the flames or attack you, Just defending myself here, I for one am not overly fond of people calling me a racist.
Ianc02 @ Mar 30th 2007 3:24PM
I whole-heartedly apologise on behalf of my country for the 17 idiots that live in the UK.
Corbo @ Mar 30th 2007 3:37PM
csc,
I apologise for that, my remarks were more intended at the commenter who said "man brits are retarded". I'm sure you were slightly exaggerating about the disclaimers but I think I was probably overdoing it myself.
I was just making my point about stuff that often comes up on Joystiq and elsewhere on the internet and I probably got carried away.
Again, I apologise about including you in that anger.
Vegan @ Mar 30th 2007 3:42PM
I've come to expect this sort of nonsense from the U.S., but Britain as well?
Jack of No Trades @ Mar 30th 2007 3:49PM
Brian
I might just change my name to that. It have a nice ring to it.
cc123 @ Mar 30th 2007 3:49PM
"Meh, so a couple of old ladies complain about the content, no big deal."
It is a big deal when you offend your core audience.
=)
csc @ Mar 30th 2007 3:52PM
Okay corbo thanks for the apology, and I apologise too if what I said sounded racist to anyone. I guess the only way to combat flamewars and fanboys is to acts rationally and in a civilised way, I'm glad this was resolved.
AssemblyLineHuman @ Mar 30th 2007 5:45PM
Seth: They always do that here on Joystiq. I think it's a joke.
kikuchiyo @ Mar 30th 2007 6:20PM
Offence is the standard British spelling. There's no need for a [sic].
Jason @ Mar 30th 2007 6:31PM
In other news, I just received a check in the mail from an anonymous company to complain to the FCC that the Wii ads here are too sexual in nature. Thanks Sony! Err... I mean...
Matthew Walsh @ Mar 30th 2007 7:35PM
You shouldn't put "sic" after "offence" as that's the way it's spelt! I've never seen the BBC use "sic" when quoting an American phrase such like "civilization"...
Brian @ Mar 31st 2007 5:01AM
jack of no trades is a jack of all asses.
[acheivement unlocked]
Sean D. @ Apr 1st 2007 9:05PM
That ad was definitely capitalizing on the violence in those videogames. I thought it was disturbing- not because of the violence, but because that guy is totally having a sexual interaction with that violence. He doesn't even look like he's having fun, just getting off...
The games look cool tho.