EA repents use of topless models in Need for Speed ads

Boobs have long been the marketing companion for guy stuff, like fast cars. So it seemed a natural choice for EA (or more likely, a contracted third-party ad firm) to feature a pair of scantily clad models posed with a Ferrari to promote Need for Speed: ProStreet (rated 3+ in Europe). That "scantily" is hereby defined as sans tops is admittedly risqué for games promotion, but the ads only appeared on UK tabloid The Sun's softcore site Page 3. Today, EA issued a statement of regret about the images, explaining that the promotion had "slipped through the proper EA approval process." As a result, the ads have been removed from the site (but not from the murky bowels of the internet).

So what's the cost? Perhaps longer 'exposure' could have helped ProStreet topple Assassin's Creed from the charts. We'll never know.

[Update: full censored image has been moved to accommodate 'work surfers' -- view it after the jump.]