ASA upholds complaints against 'violent' ads

by Ed Elias, Campaign 09-Apr-08, 07:00

LONDON - The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld complaints against four ads for the computer game Kane & Lynch.

Twenty-six complainants believed the ads condoned violence, particularly towards women, and were distressing and unsuitable for children.

The campaign comprised one poster, two magazine ads using the same image as the poster, and a TV spot.

The ASA said: "The image used in the poster and magazine ads should not be re-used in any medium, and the TV ad should not be broadcast again in its current form."

The majority of complaints were made against the poster, which showed a gagged woman with her head held back by a man. A second man, with his finger on the trigger of a rifle, stood behind them.

Text on the poster stated: "Grittier and nastier in tone than anything you've seen before, the violence here is visceral and very, very real."

The ASA said the poster was "graphic and too shocking to be seen in an untargeted medium". It also said the text of the poster was "likely to be seen as condoning and glorifying real violence".

The poster was re-used twice in a slightly different form in both Edge and Total Film magazines.

The TV ad was also subject to two complaints, and although the ASA acknowledged that efforts had been made to air the ad at appropriate times, it was ruled that it, too, was "likely to cause offence and distress to viewers".

Eidos, the maker of the game, has already withdrawn the poster and replaced it with an alternative design.