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03-10-2009, 02:15 PM
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A lot of gamers are riled over the British Department of Health's questionable "Risk an Early Death" advertisement, which shows a young child holding a gaming controller, with the slogan "Risk an an early death, just do nothing" appearing near him. This advertisement has Sony angered as well, but they have extra reason to be: The controller the child is holding has a striking resemblance to their Dual Shock pads, and they were never consulted about the use of the controller in the ad.
According to MCV, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is now considering suing The Gate, which is the agency that created the advertisement (which is part of the British Government's larger "Change4Life" campaign to promote more active lifestyles). According to a "source close to Sony," The Gate "had not contacted the platform holder to ask about using a controller that bears a close likeness to PlayStation's pad." As such, SCEE is now looking into the possibility of taking legal action -- presumably either to block the ad altogether, or at least have the controller changed.
Sony isn't the only company taking issue with the advertisement, which critics argue unfairly suggests videogaming alone is a major cause for health problems like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. MCV reports that Sega, Atari, Future Publishing, Tiga, and the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) have all publicly denounced it, with Sega Europe president and COO Mike Hayes making a particularly salient point: "Television, radio, cinema, listening to music, computing, videogaming and of course, reading all require a high element of passive participation, but of all these media types it is videogaming that provides the most potential interaction and activity. It seems that an advertisement has been put together by a poorly informed advertising agency."
Whether this campaign actually inspires children to be more active remains to be seen, but at least in the court of public opinion, this particular ad is garnering a whole lot of backlash so far.
Source - 1UP
A lot of gamers are riled over the British Department of Health's questionable "Risk an Early Death" advertisement, which shows a young child holding a gaming controller, with the slogan "Risk an an early death, just do nothing" appearing near him. This advertisement has Sony angered as well, but they have extra reason to be: The controller the child is holding has a striking resemblance to their Dual Shock pads, and they were never consulted about the use of the controller in the ad.
According to MCV, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is now considering suing The Gate, which is the agency that created the advertisement (which is part of the British Government's larger "Change4Life" campaign to promote more active lifestyles). According to a "source close to Sony," The Gate "had not contacted the platform holder to ask about using a controller that bears a close likeness to PlayStation's pad." As such, SCEE is now looking into the possibility of taking legal action -- presumably either to block the ad altogether, or at least have the controller changed.
Sony isn't the only company taking issue with the advertisement, which critics argue unfairly suggests videogaming alone is a major cause for health problems like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. MCV reports that Sega, Atari, Future Publishing, Tiga, and the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) have all publicly denounced it, with Sega Europe president and COO Mike Hayes making a particularly salient point: "Television, radio, cinema, listening to music, computing, videogaming and of course, reading all require a high element of passive participation, but of all these media types it is videogaming that provides the most potential interaction and activity. It seems that an advertisement has been put together by a poorly informed advertising agency."
Whether this campaign actually inspires children to be more active remains to be seen, but at least in the court of public opinion, this particular ad is garnering a whole lot of backlash so far.
Source - 1UP