MS pulled over for 'dangerous driving' Xbox ad
Political correctness gone Mad Max
UK advertising watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority has rapped Microsoft on the knuckles for fielding a TV ad for the Xbox 360 which "gave the impression that reckless street car racing was exciting and fun".
Reckless street car racing is indeed exciting and fun - well, we assume so on the basis of playing Carmageddon all those years ago - but the ASA holds that no one should glamorise the activity or condone it. At least not in an advert. In its judgement, the Microsoft promotional message did both.
The organisation noted that Microsoft had indeed made it clear on screen that the driving shown was staged and performed by "professional drivers". The ad also warned gormless teens not to attempt to copy the actions shown, and was broadcast after 9pm, when it's assumed here that youngsters are all in bed. Dreaming of presenting Top Gear, presumably...
These points were in the software giant's favour, but not enough to warrant allowing the ad to be shown again. Or else.
The ASA received just one complaint about the ad.
COMMENTS
3rd Base?
What is this 3rd Base? There are only 2 ends on a cricket pitch... What ho!
Anyway, All Your Base Are Belong To Us....
Welcome to Blighty
Strangely in this country we do seem reluctant to allow our advertisers to encourage "bad behaviour", we've set rules and oddly, we do try abide by them.
You'll go apoplectic when you hear that we're banning McDonalds and KFC ads from Kids TV.
So much freedom in the US, must be why their murder rate is so high.
Easy Targets
As an American I am rather comfortable with my grasp of the English language. I have been spared from the surreal fetish for the letter "u" that my co-workers endure. Also I enjoy a more standardized language where there is only ONE correct way to spell the word "program". And perhaps best of all we don't have archaic vowel sounds haunting place names, such as Southwark and Derby, which are two good examples of pronunciation and spelling being happily divorced from one another.
As I am currently planning to apply for British citizenship and have been in Britain for quite some time at this point, I feel I have some grounds for complaint against this nanny state we seem to be trapped in.
Assuming that the commerical was shown in a good slot during a popular show, we have a potential for approximately 8 million viewers.
Out of these 8 million viewers, you get 1 complaint!
What this means is that the British media can be controlled by a minority of 0.000000125% of the audience.
Is the really appropriate to have the touchiest, most overly sensitive 0.000000125% of the population telling the other 99.999999875% what to do?
That is the path to EVERYTHING being banned.
Oh we Brits are so much better st spelling and grammar!
I suppose neither of the above posters have had any exposure to the teen pond-life in this country, or they wouldn't be so conceited about the first post! Vicky Pollard wasn't invented becasue of the habits of American youth...
We'll see if the judge in the M$ case referred to above throws it out before making any more sarcastic remarks about common sense.
Hm
I'm sure this point will be moderated as it's off-topic and smug, but I must try: more than anything, the first comment seems to emphasise America's foundational principle of free spelling.
Or perhaps it won't be moderated - a triumph for free speech!
