Britain loves its banning. Right next to teabags and unjustifiable xenophobia, there’s nothing the great British public loves more than getting the most benign and mundane things banned. Take, for example, the latest ridiculous farce when it comes to jackasses with too much time on their hands — after receiving an insurmountable number of complaints (23 in total!), the lovable Advertising Standards Authority has banned an online ad banner for the PlayStation 3 for ‘condoning’ violence on a Yahoo page. Yes, somewhat like the Burnout incident I reported on a few months ago, but even more ludicrous.
Hit the jump for more.
[Thanks to Action Bastard. The above video, in case of confusion, is an example of the campaign, not the banned ad in question.]
While the ASA actually provided some valid reasons for the Burnout poster ban, I fail to see any just cause for this newest overreaction. The advertisment in question was a part of Sony’s This Is Living campaign, a surreal series of commercials set in a hotel and featuring a cast of twisted characters. The ad showed war veteran Kovac (in video) with a knife and a gun, displaying the lines, “You on my side? listen up I’ve killed for less. The music plays Puccini in my head.” You may have actually seen it on gaming Websites, I definitely remember it when it was relevant — months and months ago. Not ages later, where it’s suddenly become offensive.
I could just about accept the Burnout incident after a while, but this? Not only is it an old advert, it’s ridiculously tame, was scheduled to appear at times when children were not supposed to be online and Yahoo only showed it to users registered over the age of 18. Yet a whole 23 petty, pitiful people felt the need to bitch about it, because it was apparently so damn offensive and corrupting. It’s been noted that no such bitching was upheld against other ads in the series, notably a woman in her underwear sitting on the toilet.
Please someone help me get out of England.
Please.
