Kane & Lynch Ads Banned In Least Effective Manner Possible
Most of the fuss around last November's launch of Kane & Lynch revolved around crooked editorial reviews rather than the game itself, which by all accounts was not that great in the first place, let alone worth buying out Gamespot's once-fine editorial content.
But the UK's Advertising Standards Authority has found a way to humiliate Kane & Lynch even further: by banning its billboard and magazine campaign. Nearly half a year after the game's release.
A whopping 26 complaints led the Authority (eventually) to conclude that the poster, shown, is "graphic and too shocking to be seen in an untargeted medium." Check out the Big Brotherage:
We noted that the demographic profile of the magazines that carried the ads was predominantly adult males and that only a small number of children were likely to have seen the ads.
We considered, however, that the graphic and shocking image, which would be seen as condoning and glorifying real violence, was likely to cause distress to some readers and was unsuitable for children to see. We therefore concluded that the placement of the ads was irresponsible.
In other words: "We realize this is a non-issue, but we'd like to make it an issue nonetheless."
Kane & Lynch Ads Banned... Five Months After Release [Gamepolitics]
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany, Video Games on 9 April 2008
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: ad, ban, banned ad, kane & lynch, uk
I saw this in the press. Revolting and nasty. Really couldn't understand how it got past plenty of presumably sane grown-ups to make it into print.
vindicated!
http://gaygamer.net/2007/11/kane_and_lynch_dead_meat.html