Kane & Lynch Ads Banned... Five Months After Release
Kane & Lynch Ads Banned... Five Months After Release
April 9, 2008
Better late than never?That could be the operative phrase at the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which, according to the Guardian, has just sanctioned an ad campaign for Eidos' Kane & Lynch.
The game, which garnered unimpressive reviews, launched on November 13th of last year - which makes the ASA's order that no K&L ads be reprinted or rebroadcast a bit pointless.
The ASA said that it had received 26 complaints and that the poster at left was "graphic and too shocking to be seen in an untargeted medium". From the Guardian:
The ad was used a double-page spread in Future Publishing's computer game magazine Edge, while a second version appeared in the magazine Total Film...
Ruling on the Kane & Lynch poster... the ASA said it was "likely to be seen as condoning and glorifying real violence", and was also irresponsible and "likely to cause serious or widespread offence".
From the ASA's report, as cited by the Guardian:
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.
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Posted 11/23/09 at 10:08am
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: http://tinyurl.com/ye6x9nv
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: http://tinyurl.com/ye6x9nv
Posted 11/23/09 at 10:08am
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: The very definition of "Lucky Shot":
Rodrigo Ybáñez García: The very definition of "Lucky Shot":
Posted 11/23/09 at 07:56am
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yl2vfw6 Here's the link, good for conspiracy theories.
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yl2vfw6 Here's the link, good for conspiracy theories.
Posted 11/23/09 at 07:42am
JDKJ: Leaders never follow. Followers never lead.
JDKJ: Leaders never follow. Followers never lead.
Posted 11/23/09 at 06:48am
DarkSaber: Anyone been following this Hadley Climatic Research Centre server hack story?
DarkSaber: Anyone been following this Hadley Climatic Research Centre server hack story?
Posted 11/22/09 at 11:48pm
ZippyDSMlee: AE:they feeding you well? I am enjoying win7 and heading to bed...uhg I need to get up early and start back to cleaning/painting blahg >< need tog et stuff done befor thanksgiving....
ZippyDSMlee: AE:they feeding you well? I am enjoying win7 and heading to bed...uhg I need to get up early and start back to cleaning/painting blahg >< need tog et stuff done befor thanksgiving....
Posted 11/22/09 at 11:41pm
Andrew Eisen: Just got home from an eight hour recording session at Capitol Records. A lot of fun but damn exhausting.
Andrew Eisen: Just got home from an eight hour recording session at Capitol Records. A lot of fun but damn exhausting.
Posted 11/22/09 at 08:44pm
BearDogg-X: 10 N. O. Who Dat?
BearDogg-X: 10 N. O. Who Dat?
Posted 11/22/09 at 09:45am
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
Posted 11/22/09 at 12:06am
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:57pm
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:56pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:42pm
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:41pm
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:44pm
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:41pm
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:38pm
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
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Comments
B) Whatsamatta? Don't they have TV commercials for 24 over there? Those commercials are way more violentl and suggestive than that picture.
I don't understand why the authorities in the UK, or in Denmark etc. are going after Kane&Lynch adds and beer adss that clearly is marketed towards adults using the arguments that a child might see them or that some people might take offense at them. While I agree somewhat that children needs to be protected from seeing violent content, I also think that it really is the job of the parents to monitor this, not the state's.
If we, as a society restricts children from seeing what we deem as harmful content, be it sexual or violent, or just content we interprete as such i.e.g the mentioned Kane & Lynch ad, then might I suggest, that we ban cartoons as well, the Legend of Zelda games, Spyro games along with Sonic - The Hedgehog games. I mean some people could actually offensive the cartoony violence in these games as well as the content might be damaging to children. If it isn't the 'won't anyone think of the children' argument that get's you it is the 'someone might actually find this ad, game, video, or lyric' offensive. Yes, they might, but chances are they won't. And that is why we have a guaranteed freedom of expression: To make sure that we are able to say, show & tell content that other people might be offended by. If we were to take into account everything we se making sure that anyone got offended when we said it, then we couldn't say anything at all, and if we did, what we said, would certainly not have been as interesting and exciting as it could have been.
And yes, in Europe we have tv ads for progams (or shows) like '24' or the next big US war film, showing way more violence than the ads for Kane&Lynch are showing. In fact, next tuesday (the 15th of April 2008) starts a new detecttive show which is definitely not for children. It will begin at 5.30 PM and last for an hour each day. And in the tv ad for it today, there were shooting and content clearly not suitable for children -mich much worse than the ads for Kane&Lynch.
I agree, though, that 5-6 months after a game's release is very late....
The country is bloody hopeless, always dealing from the lowest (stupidest / smallmindedededest ) denominator.
They should have a standard that any issue that receives less than 300 or so complaints is automatically ignored.
I'm so sick of ads, programs, ideas and improvements being shot down by 3 old people and a jack russell with nothing better to do before bingo than complain about something totally irrelevant to them.
In fact, in a democracy they should work on the idea of accepting the silent majority. Therefore they work out how many people are estimated to have seen the Advert and only pull it if more than half of those complain.
@ neoelasticman
So, each complaint = 100 people. Thus, 2600 complaints. That almost half of the users.
ALMOST half, so not the majority and therefore fails under new BOB's regulations.
job done.
And a whopping 26 complaints... From Adam Adamson to Zeke Zepper. Forget too little too late, how about too much too late?
You obviously never heard of the CCFC... what you just described is basically their ideal world. Except take that and ad... basically all ads period.
Free will is a pain in the ass and something I cannot cope with.
Cute...
Spose, they have to justify their existence somehow.
They should get rid of those period. I'm sick and tired of seeing the same GGW commercial during every single got-dang commercial break.
I mean, you know that 1 complaint is like the equivalent of 1 billion people being upset... so that means that 26 billion people were outraged over that ad! my god, they HAD to take those ads down, they should go back to 5 months ago and remove them
This happens all the time in the UK and it will keep happening. There's one simple rule to follow: Do not put violent adverts/imagery on physical media because you simply can't have a watershed on billboards and magazines.
(Hey, there's an idea. You know those rotating devices they use to share ad space? Why not let them spin to advertise violent stuff once the lights go off?)
Because of kids, my entertainment options are fading away. It's not the politicians that are causing problems. I'm pretty sure that it's all the children that are ruining the world. So let's end hunger and pro-creation, both in one fell swoop, and start eating kids. They can be safe in our stomaches. We can be like kangeroos, but without all the kicking and bouncing.
have we got great news for you! introducing our new civics manual . . . 1984!
Dude, Im down with that...but....Dolly Parton?
That's funny, you'd think that after FIVE MONTHS we'd see some evidence of this "widespread offence". Twenty-six easily offended twats can hardly be described as "widespread".
sir take your logic and leave jk =p
Yep, 26 people complained, but all British people are sensitive...
That's nothing. In a Toronto Sun I saw last week, 6 idiots were bitching and moaning about Comedy Network's ads on the TTC for South Park Uncensored with one of the chars about to get anal probed. Those are probably the only 6 people old enough who have never seen an ep of South Park.
Quite obviously this sick filth must be banned. It's an incitement to lawlessness.
Right, rant over, I'm off to sip fine malt whisky and indulge my sociopathic tendencies :)
Freaking armchair offendees!
Still, an amusingly obvious reaction from fellow Brits. Animals that appear to be scared causing an outcry? This is why the society for the protection of animals has a royal charter, but the society for the protection of children doesn't. Won't someone think of the doggies!
Gift.
Gift.
The idea with a lot of this seemingly misguided censorship, is actually a very sophisticated system of incrementalist control.
The material being censored is only important because it CAN be censored, it's only a means to the desired end.
Ordo Ab Chao... if you will.
/shrug.. or maybe I'm wearing a tinfoil hat, you decide.
/rimshot
lol
...for those found in retirement homes.
YOU FOOLS! YOU HAVE TO CENSOR TELEVISION!
Family Guy's great, isn't it? :P
The news is different as they show what they do under the guise of informing. And they'll warn you if what they're going to show could be disturbing.
Interestingly, the ad as shown in the Graun has tape over her mouth but the little pic in the GP article does not. Could GP be using a censored version of the advert from an American source? (If so, very odd thing to censor.)
Just to wave a little white flag though: God, people will complain about anything. Give it a rest, Middle England. Polish immigrants will put up posters on buildings in predominantly Asian estates advertising things you don't like for teenagers you don't understand and if you insist on wishing that the country could go back to the rose-tinted version of the 1940's you remember then we'll just have to disconnect your TV, ban you from Tesco's and randomly shout warnings in the middle of the night that your houses are going to be bombed.
What's next Solent Green getting banned?
fake nude pics of Roseanne? that's gross dude.
Rosanne Bar.Weird dude.
I thought this story was funny.
You just gave me a idea on why, maybe they did it to keep a really crappy game from widing up in childrens hands.
It's not that bad (yet) just the very small minority having a fit about a self perceived threat as always
on the plus side, if they want to waste energy banning adverts long out of date and beyond relevance, let them... I'm glad they're wasting their time on such pointless things instead of anything current :)
I do take issue with the original ad for Kane and Lynch in which the woman had the duct tape on her mouth and was crying when that ad was on display inside video game stores. Being placed outside of the covers of a magazine and in a spot meant to draw attention from people of all ages is something that concerns me, and while I still don't support involvement from an outside body, I do expect the people who placed the advertising in that spot or chose to display that image so openly to act more responsibly.
Hey, don't knock Rosie - big girls rock! VIVA LA BBW!
*Runs*
Sometime I find that Western world is more commie than the real communist.
It's sad, it really is, but you have understand that these large companies place these ads in sections that will get to a younger audience while trying to attempt to look like they aren't. They do it on purpose. My kids will grow up playing video games because they love them, and I love them, but I don't think that subjecting 12 year old to the same type of violence and advertising as and 18 year old is good practice.
They didn't ban anyone from selling/playing the game, they simply restricted something that they saw to be a potential hazard to a younger audience. I"m not saying it's an awesome move, an all inclusive move, or even a move that will actually accomplish something but what they did was legal, and completely within their jurisdiction to do so.
They didn't base their decision entirely on the magazine add alone and that is the key to remember. There were giant posters hanging in outside windows of game stores in public (at the mall) where thousands of children walk by a day. I'm sure that the magazine add was the smallest on their list of reasons to ban all advertisements.
It completely saddens me that we have to rely on an outside body to enforce these types of "ethics", if you will, because business no longer hold the courage or self decency to say "I'm not going to sell it" just because it makes them money. Just like with nearly everything else in the world, principle is lost.
quote
hmmm Ok so a quick google found circulation averages of around 31k for Edge and 85k Total Film per month…so 120000 adverts in circulation generated 26 complaints. 0.021% or to put it another way 99.979 people had no issue whatsoever.
end quote
You forget, every complaint written is representative of 99 other people that didn't write. So, each complaint = 100 people. Thus, 2600 complaints. That almost half of the users. The thought that so many people were offended just scare the chickens out of me. What has the world come to where people can get scared by a poster?
its the ultimate Nanny state.
you can't walk down the street without someone telling you what to do because its just "better" or "healthier".
Fucking hate this place.
Lets just Censor everything. Ban everything wrap people in cotton wool and then everyone will be disensitized.
Like what the governments doing.
B$stards.
During a quick search I found a couple for Play.com that got upheld (i.e. pulled) all because someone misunderstood one of their adverts and wasn't getting a DVD as cheap as he thought they would.
Just as long as they don;t get involved in video game classification otherwise nothing would ever get released here.
True, but man that game just sucked. Also side note GTA IV soon *dances the saftey dance* Yep I'm doing the safety dance, I'm acting like world governments doing that WAY to late.