Tech Shout!

Video game developer and publisher Electronic Arts is being criticized for the advertisement of one of its video games. The ad for EA’s Burnout Dominator game title, according to many supposedly promoted violence.

Burnout Dominator is part of the popular Burnout franchise of video games. The poster ad for Burnout Dominator was displayed on the London Underground last year. It drew around 37 complaints that it was likely to encourage violence, dangerous driving and antisocial behavior.

Now, the Advertising Standards Authority has branded the poster ad for Burnout Dominator as “irresponsible” following complaints registered by the public.

Here is what an ASA spokesperson said: “The complainants described the advert as offensive as it condoned and was likely to encourage violence, dangerous driving and anti-social behavior such as vandalism. The Advertising Standards Authority determined that the implication of the advertisement was likely to cause serious or widespread offence.”

And that’s not all; the ASA also has a problem with the slogan on the poster ad for Burnout. The slogan reads as “Inner Peace through Outer Violence.”

The ASA have finally ruled that the poster was a breach of advertising codes, as it “could be seen to condone a violent lifestyle, anti-social behavior or dangerous driving.”

Electronic Arts was given the chance to defend the poster, after which they said that it was clear that the advertisement was for a videogame and was not condoning any form of violence.

However, EA will abide by instructions handed out by the ASA that say that the ad should never appear again “in its current form.”

The ASA has also recommended that in the future, EA should take advice from the copy advice team of the committee of advertising practice.

This ban follows the controversy of Sony’s Resistance: Fall of Man, and another game which features a picture of a murdered toddler James Bulger.