Background
Summary of Council decision:
Three issues were investigated, all of which were Not upheld.
Ad description
A TV ad, for computer game Call of Duty: Ghosts, to the background soundtrack of Frank Sinatra singing 'I'm Gonna Live until I Die', featured four men engaged in a series of gunfights and explosions with an anonymous enemy, vehicles and aircraft in an abandoned and derelict Las Vegas, outer space and a snowy tundra. At the end of the ad, on-screen text stated "There's a soldier in all of us".
The ad was 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.
Issue
1. Thirteen viewers challenged whether the ad was offensive and irresponsible, because it trivialised warfare and condoned and encouraged violence and gun use.
2. Six viewers challenged whether the ad was inappropriately scheduled on, or around Remembrance Day.
3. Seven viewers challenged whether the ad was inappropriately scheduled at times when children might have been watching.
Response
1. Activision Blizzard UK said the ad was designed to celebrate the camaraderie in playing the video game with friends. They believed that it was filmed in a light hearted way with the main characters acting good humouredly throughout. The ad did not contain any scenes of killing or blood, and the futuristic Las Vegas and outer space settings made the ad less realistic. They said a number of edits were made to the ad in order to avoid giving the impression that it trivialised war, or was encouraging violence and gun use.
Clearcast said they considered the ad carefully at all stages of the clearance process and were particularly conscious of the battle scenes and whether they would be seen to be excessive or presented in a way that condoned or encouraged violence. However, they believed that the fantastical settings, including a snowy tundra, where the surreal aspect of the scene was heightened by the four main characters wearing the same clothes they wore in Las Vegas, were clearly not in the real world, but showed the characters inside the video game itself. Clearcast said the four main characters were clearly not actual soldiers, but a group of friends, shown being distracted from the running battle by a slot machine, flirting with actress Megan Fox and by admiring the scenery in the space scene. They believed the comic tone lightened any violence, which was further softened by the ad not showing their enemy or anyone being shot or harmed. They said the tagline "There's a soldier in all of us" stressed that the characters, who were clearly not soldiers, were ordinary people getting to play at being soldiers within the confines of the game.
Clearcast believed that, because the ad showed a computer game brought to life instead of real war, it had not trivialised warfare and the fantastical and comedic tone was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence or encourage violence and gun use.
2. Activision Blizzard UK said they were sorry that some viewers believed the broadcasters had scheduled the ad inappropriately on or around Remembrance Day, but pointed out that broadcasters had also scheduled ads for similar products, as well as action and war programmes, over the Remembrance Day weekend.
Clearcast said it was regrettable that some viewers found the scheduling of the ad on or around Remembrance Day offensive, but because it did not depict realistic warfare, believed that it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.
Channel 4 said they took their responsibility to avoid inappropriate juxtapositions between ads and programmes seriously and believed that they had scheduled the ad responsibly. They ensured that the ad was not broadcast during the factual programmes about war and wartime events that were transmitted over the Remembrance Day weekend. They said they received three complaints directly from viewers about the ad being shown over the Remembrance Day period.
3. Activision Blizzard UK said the ad was given an ex-kids restriction to prevent it from being shown in or around programmes made for, or specifically targeted at, children and believed that restriction was appropriate for the ad.
Clearcast explained that the game had a 16 age certificate, which automatically required the ad to be given an ex-kids restriction. Regardless of the age rating for the game, they believed an ex-kids restriction was also appropriate, because of the fantastical violence and gunfight, but they did not believe that it required a more stringent rating.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA considered that it was clear that the main characters were participants in the game rather than actual soldiers in a battle scenario. The setting was fantastical and highly exaggerated, which combined with the light hearted visual asides, such as admiring the scenery, and the lack of urgency or fear, had lessened the overall impact of the gunfight, which did not include any scenes of killing. We considered that, because the scenes were clearly part of a computer game and far-fetched, they were unlikely to encourage or condone violence or gun use.
We also considered that the scenes of the men smiling and enjoying the action, together with the soundtrack of "I'm Gonna Live until I Die' and the on-screen text "There's a soldier in all of us" would be understood by viewers in the context of the ad to refer to involvement and interaction with the computer game rather than trivialising the seriousness of warfare. We therefore concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.
On this point, we investigated the ad under BCAP Code rules 1.2 1.2 Advertisements must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the audience and to society. (Responsible advertising) and 4.2 4.2 Advertisements must not cause serious or widespread offence against generally accepted moral, social or cultural standards. and 4.9 4.9 Advertisements must not condone or encourage violence, crime, disorder or anti-social behaviour. (Harm and offence), but did not find it in breach.
2. Not upheld
Channel 4 scheduled the ad away from programmes that were specifically dedicated to war and warfare and we received no specific complaints that the ad was broadcast around coverage of the Cenotaph ceremony or the following day's three minutes silence. Although we understood that some viewers found the timing over the Remembrance Day weekend to be distasteful, we considered that the ad would be understood to be about game-play and not war itself and the broadcast of the ad over that weekend was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence to viewers.
On this point, we investigated the ad under BCAP rule 32.1 32.1 Broadcasters must exercise responsible judgement on the scheduling of advertisements and operate internal systems capable of identifying and avoiding unsuitable juxtapositions between advertising material and programmes, especially those that could distress or offend viewers or listeners. (Scheduling), but did not find it in breach.
3. Not upheld
We understood that, because the game had a 16 age certificate, Clearcast applied a restriction to prevent it from being broadcast in or around programmes made for, or specifically targeted at, children. We considered the restriction was appropriate in keeping the ad away from young children, but there was nothing within the ad that made it unsuitable for broadcast at other times of the day. We acknowledged that some viewers found the ad unsuitable for broadcast when older children might be watching at other times of the day, but concluded that the ex-kids restriction was nonetheless sufficient for the ad.
On this point, we investigated the ad under BCAP rules
4.1
4.1
Advertisements must contain nothing that could cause physical, mental, moral or social harm to persons under the age of 18.
(Harm and offence),
5.1
5.1
Advertisements that are suitable for older children but could distress younger children must be sensitively scheduled (see Section 32: Scheduling).
(Children) and
32.3
32.3
Relevant timing restrictions must be applied to advertisements that, through their content, might harm or distress children of particular ages or that are otherwise unsuitable for them.
(Scheduling).
Action
No action necessary.
