Complaints that a responsive TV ad for the Battlefield 3 video game, featuring scenes of large guns, rocket fire and multiple explosions, glorified war have fallen on deaf ears at the Advertising Standards Authority.
Members of the public also complained that the timing of the ad – broadcast at 6.15pm – was likely to mean children were watching.
Text on the screen included reviews including, “the best-looking first-person shooter to date” and “Battlefield 3 is unnervingly beautiful”. The ad had been cleared by Clearcast with an ex-kids restriction, which meant it should not be shown in or around programmes made for, or specifically targeted at, children.
The fact that it was shown during a football match appears to have saved the day for Electronics Arts, the company behind the game.
The ASA said: “We acknowledged some viewers might find the product, or the content of the ad, to be in poor taste but considered it was unlikely to be seen to condone real life violence or to glorify war. We concluded that it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.”
It added: “Because it was based on war scenarios and included shooting and explosions, we considered the ad could cause harm to younger children.”
The watchdog ruled that no further action was needed.
