UK regulator bans Call of Duty ad for 'implying painful non-consensual penetration of men'
It has been revealed that the UK Advertising Standards Authority has banned one of the advertisements for the FPS game '
Activision Blizzard UK Ltd - ASA | CAP
https://www.asa.org.uk/rulings/activision-blizzard-uk-ltd-g25-1319083-activision-blizzard-uk-ltd.html
The video ad in question, still available on YouTube at the time of writing, is part of a series of videos featuring ' replacers, ' people who perform tasks for busy gamers, and depicts a scene from an airport security checkpoint.
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To put it simply, the contents are as follows.
A male security officer told a male passenger, 'You've been randomly selected. Face the wall!'
A female security inspector picks up a medicine container from a bag, licks her teeth, shakes it, and gives a wink to a male security inspector.
A male security officer told a passenger to 'take off everything except your shoes'
A female security officer puts on plastic gloves and says, 'Now it's time for the puppet show!'
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A male security officer put a metal detector in a passenger's mouth and said, 'Bite this. She's going in dry.'
The advert was reviewed by the Advertising Standards Authority after viewers complained that it 'deemphasized sexual violence' and 'promoted drug abuse'.
The Advertising Standards Authority said the scene of the man being forced to rotate 'against the wall' and the line 'It's time for a puppet show' were evocative of invasive physical examinations, while the line 'Bite this' clearly alluded to 'penetration' and the pain that would accompany it.
Based on these points, the Advertising Standards Authority acknowledged that the advert contained sexual elements, stating that 'while it is understandable that it is an exaggerated comedy, it alludes to non-consensual penetration, which is humiliating and painful for men, and is therefore associated with sexual violence,' and ruled that it should not be republished.
On the other hand, with regard to the criticism that the film encourages drug abuse, the judgement was that there was no problem, given that 'the depiction is fleeting, the type of drug is unknown, and the exchange is vague.'
The developer, Activision Blizzard, argued that the ad 'promotes a game intended for an 18+ audience and is intended only for adults with an intolerance to indecent or exaggerated humor. The ad clearly depicts a parody situation that bears no resemblance to actual airport security procedures, does not depict any characters seeking sexual gratification, and is comedic in tone, not depicting pain or abuse.' However, the complaint was unsuccessful.
The ad was reviewed in advance by advertising review organization Clearcast and approved with the restriction that it should not be shown on 'children's programming,' and it was not actually shown on children's content.
The Advertising Standards Authority has called on Activision Blizzard to take social responsibility, including by ensuring that its content does not trivialize sexual violence and cause serious offense.
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