asa posts (Subscribe to this feed)
Report: UK Advertising authority to warn publishers to tone down violent ads
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Jul 20th 2009 at 4:15PM }
Basically, the ASA is suggesting that publishers think about whether their advertisements will "offend and cause distress" throughout their ad consumers. Though the ASA admits that violent game ads have yet to be a problem in the UK, it'll use the new guidelines to "qualify the existing guidance to help publishers avoid problems in the future." That statement just confirms our long-held suspicion that the ASA is full-to-brim with psychics.
ASA won't do anything about Change4Life ad
by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 19th 2009 at 10:13AM }
"The Council" at the ASA found that most readers would understand that the ad was simply discouraging a sedentary lifestyle -- yes, but then why not put something else in the boy's hands ... like a book? Of course, if a book was put in the boy's hands to illustrate the point, it might upset the "only" time the ASA can act, which is when something "offends against widely accepted moral, social or cultural standards." Simply stated: games aren't a cultural standard, yet.
UK 'Change4Life' ad campaign attacks gamers
by Ben Gilbert { Mar 6th 2009 at 12:30PM }
MCV reported this morning that an ad campaign titled "Change4Life," currently running in the United Kingdom, is targeting the region's gaming populace with some fairly suggestive remarks. Drawing a correlation between childhood game playing and "an early death," the British Heart Foundation, Diabetes UK and Cancer Research seem to have made an enemy in MCV, attracting an official complaint filed with the Advertising Standards Authority. MCV's Tim Ingham puts his site's opinion into perspective in a response post to the ad campaign, saying, "Change4Life's advertising campaign makes a mockery of everything the industry has achieved in the last decade. And it's bang out of order." We're inclined to agree with him based on what we've seen so far. For shame!
ASA bans misleading Xbox 360 video rental service ad
by Xav de Matos { Feb 11th 2009 at 6:00PM }
The ASA investigated the advert after receiving a complaint that it did not specify Microsoft's actual policy on video rentals, which states that rentals will become unwatchable 24 hours after initial viewing or 14 days after purchase. The ASA concluded that "new users could be influenced to purchase" with the belief that they would own the right to watch the film at any time.
According to Webuser, Microsoft argues the brief television spot did not allow enough time to detail the entire Video Marketplace policy, but the ASA maintains the service has "significant conditions" that must be disclosed to consumers. It's true, gamers, you really don't own anything you put into your Xbox 360 console. Cracking it open will only reveal a stack of digital IOU's.
[Image]
EA uses Xbox 360 graphics to sell Wii game in the UK
by David Hinkle { Dec 17th 2008 at 2:32PM }
Apparently, over in the UK, EA has been advertising Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 in a very shady manner. They've been using the Xbox 360 version of the game in the ads, claiming it's gameplay from the Wii version of the game. Luckily, the UK's Advertising Standards Authority caught them.
What could ever make EA do such a thing? Apparently, the images from the Wii version of the game weren't "broadcast quality." Sure thing, EA. Sure thing.
[Via Joystiq]
EA uses Xbox 360 graphics to sell Wii game, gets caught
by Alexander Sliwinski { Dec 17th 2008 at 8:20AM }
EA's ad agency stated that, in the future, it would make sure that the images and format being promoted match.
[Via Gi.biz]
ASA bans Condemned 2 telly ad five months late
by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 18th 2008 at 12:42PM }
Despite the pair of violent commercials being cleared for post-9PM showing, the ASA determined that "viewers were likely to find those scenes offensive and distressing and to see them as condoning real violence and cruelty." Check out what we believe to be one of the offensive ads, after the break.
[Via GamePolitics]
ASA dismisses GTA IV telly ad complaints
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 30th 2008 at 9:45AM }
The UK advert for GTA IV was very similar to the US version ... just with a British voice over at the end and some squiggly mark in front of the price tag that looks like this: £. We've been told it means lbs., but that seems silly, because pounds are a measure of weight. Anyway, the commercial can be found after the break for a refresher.
Bully ad complaints dismissed by ASA
by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 9th 2008 at 3:28PM }
It's funny that the ASA would take the stance that the Bully ads wouldn't cause "widespread offense" when it received a total of 31 complaints. Comparably, the banned ad for Kane & Lynch only received 26 complaints. The extra complaints isn't exactly surprising; remember that the original PS2 version of Bully actually changed its name to Canis Canem Edit when it was released in Europe.
PS3 ad banned for touting backwards compatibility
by Alexander Sliwinski { May 7th 2008 at 11:30AM }
Now, if only 26 complaints can get the ASA to ban a Kane & Lynch poster, we can only imagine how many rabid fanboys it took to ban this "misleading" ad. We've been unable to find a version of the commercial online, but if anybody finds it, we'll give thanks and place it after the break.
Kane & Lynch ads banned in UK
by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 9th 2008 at 3:00PM }
The print ad appeared in two Future Publishing magazines, while a TV ad portrayed scenes of graphic violence. The poster also included an overlay of this brilliant insight from OXM: "Grittier and nastier in tone than anything you've seen before, the violence here is visceral, brutal and very, very real." This was seen by the ASA as possibly "condoning and glorifying real violence." Sadly, none of the controversy Kane & Lynch seems to shake up makes the mediocre game any better, but it sure does help sell copies.
Brits ban 'old' Xbox 360 commercial
by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 4th 2007 at 1:00AM }
The same Xbox 360 commercial we posted last November improbably showing the release date for Halo 3 has been banned in England. The Advertising Standards Agency says the advertisement "could be seen to condone dangerous driving," despite the prominent text stating "Dramatisation. Professional stunt. Do not attempt." Apparently ad agency McCann Erickson worked closely with the ASA and were given clearance to run the ad after 9 PM. The ASA decided to ban the ad anyway stating it "reinforced the sense that the events were real, rather than fantasy, and were therefore capable of being copied." Sorry England, looks like you're just going to have to watch the ad over, and over, and over again here on Joystiq ... what a shame.
The Reuters story doesn't say how long the advertisement was in circulation, but like we said, it's been on our radar since last November. If it's been in rotation in England since that time, bless the ASA, they just gave that little commercial a second life through controversy. This isn't the first time we've seen this sort of odd behavior. Boston's transit authority banned ads for M rated games after a minor Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories controversy. The thing was that nobody raised a fuss a year prior when Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories ads were all over the same system.
