PlayStation Move ad poster banned

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 22 December, 2010

Might condone racist violence, some complain.

See that poster there at the bottom of the page? The one advertising PlayStation Move? It's been banned.

The ad received eight complaints that the imagery showed graphic violence, which could be seen as encouraging violent behaviour and be unsuitable for children, reports Campaign (via Kotaku).

Two of the complainants mentioned the game player was white and the computer character being tackled was black, and said the ad might be seen to condone racist violence.

Sony responded by saying the poster was supposed to advertise the controller, not a game.

It also claimed to have "taken steps to ensure that the images were not graphic" and that they did not target or feature children within them.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) disagreed, and upheld complaints the images in the ad were likely to "condone or encourage violent behaviour," which could cause serious offence to the viewing public and that it was unsuitable for children. It has now been banned.

It did not, however, accept the complaint that the images were depicting a racist attack. The ASA said that while the men featured had "slightly different skin tones," the ad was unlikely to be seen as condoning racist violence.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (56) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Syrok Verified Community Coordinator, Tarsier Studios #1 1 year ago

    Technically speaking they are both grey.

    And the ad is not very good. :)

  • covfan #2 1 year ago

    Can I complain about the Iceland TV Adverts? They condone and encourage violent behaviour as well.

  • fiery_jackass #3 1 year ago

    to me it looks more like that chap is about to be orally assaulted by a series of people holding glowing sex toys.

  • Jolly_Armadillo #4 1 year ago

    Some people are overly affected

  • AcidSnake #5 1 year ago

    "The game is just the start" could have been omitted though...

    I don't see that much of a difference between the skin colours honestly, though I am noticing that the guy being punched in the 'game world' is doing something to the 'manparts' of the player in the 'real world'...

  • Kenshin001 #6 1 year ago

    The UK PS ads are rubbish and that is a prime example. It doesn't look fun, it looks nasty and chavvy. SCEE should get a new agency.

  • Macrike Verified Chief Executive, PSNow! #7 1 year ago

    Whoever complained about the guy being black should go to Specsavers.

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #8 1 year ago

    The quote marks in the subtext would appear to be quoting the ASA, when they are not as explained in the article.

    I think the subtext should be banned (or changed)

  • Eldritch #9 1 year ago

    ""The game is just the start" could have been omitted though... "

    My thoughts exactly. Not so sure about the skin colours either. And it IS a very poor poster indeed.

  • lcmnick #10 1 year ago

    Post deleted at 12:48:44 14-04-2012

  • Kosmoz #11 1 year ago

    Oh do fuck off

  • 00.00.01 #12 1 year ago

    FFS! Only eight complains and it gets banned? Sounds like a Brucie Blunder to me. Also the character who is being held is a caucasian male in the game (The Fight: Lights Out), it seems to me that people who complained about this are very quick to assume that the 'victim' in this image is non-white.
    So who's actually being racist here?

  • dirtysteve #13 1 year ago

    Awful time for ads, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood was another one. Generic shite RnB soundtrack, combined with stop/start jerky motion they thought would look cool. I'm still pleasantly surprised the game is actually good.

  • FreakyZoid #14 1 year ago

    Punch the Darkie is out now on PlayStation 3. Parents! If you think your kid might be interested in Punch the Darkie, get them to check it out on Megaton.co.uk, our gaming site for kids.

  • menage #15 1 year ago

    I honestly believe that people reporting this shit are the ones you should watch out for the most.

    i wouldn't even think about racism or stuff like that when i would see this.
    And since when do so little people influence something like this. This world is way to sensitive to a couple of losers.
    Edited by menage at 22/12/10 @ 13:45

  • loveless #16 1 year ago

    @covfan - not convinced the Iceland TV ads condone violent behaviour. But they (and others) make me want to punch the screen

  • makeamazing #17 1 year ago

    8 complaints and banned, bit extreme, shame they cannot do the same with some of the crap that is shown on TV... i mean if i have to see another advert with that guy from Pineapple Dance Studios i might have to complain.... sure there must be more than 8 people who will agree with me!

  • loveless #18 1 year ago

    ""The game is just the start" could have been omitted though... "

    Not really - although it has the wrong connotation in context with the image, it's an important tag line for the entire Playstation brand.

  • Bartacus #19 1 year ago

    He should have been holding a banana.

  • mukki #20 1 year ago

    nasty looking ad
    and racist? come that is tad silly or...
    possibly a lame ass attempt to get some PR...

  • Razz #21 1 year ago

    TWO complaints about racism and that's all you guys focus on.... who's more sensitive I wonder...

    Hypocrites.
    Edited by Razz at 22/12/10 @ 15:10

  • Climhazzard #22 1 year ago

    Jesus bleeding Christ! When will this kind of shit end. 'change him for a white person and it will be perfectly fine'. And who are these people complaining about these things, they seriously haven't nothing better to do. Morons.
    Edited by Climhazzard at 22/12/10 @ 14:15

  • spiritsnake #23 1 year ago

    some people are way toooo sensitive!! and what about all those other violent ads and violent movies? or violent cartoons?
    this is pathetic! what is the world coming to?

  • Oh-Bollox #24 1 year ago

    I honestly believe stuff like this is ridiculous.

    Even if the poster did condone racist violence, how many people would it influence? Would I look at it and go "Right, time to go smack a nig nog!" and go out and assault someone with a darker skin than my own? If people are so bloody daft they're influenced in any way, shape, or form by adverts, you cannot possibly protect society from them.

    I'm going to see about getting funding from breweries for a series of adverts about it being perfectly okay to drink and drive. Because as soon as people see the advert, it will cause them to perform a moral about-face on the issue.

    Wankers.
    Edited by Oh-Bollox at 22/12/10 @ 14:21

  • kinky_mong #25 1 year ago

    This poster was up on a bus shelter by Stockwell Station, and that's all I'm saying. Make your own jokes.

  • cw- #26 1 year ago

    as we all know one call equals a billion people

  • Mkwone #27 1 year ago

    All i need is 8 people to ban an advert?

    Heck, between my various email adresses i could take town an advertising campaign single handedly.

  • djed #28 1 year ago

    Well, it wasn't banned for racism, but for violence so...

    edit: Mr. Yin-Poole seems to add a sensationalist twist to any article though, so the sub-heading isn't as much surprising as it is disappointing.
    Edited by djed at 22/12/10 @ 14:41

  • Stop-gap #29 1 year ago

    That really is a terrible looking advert.

  • vmanb #30 1 year ago

    I hope these 8 people didn't watch franky boyle last night.

  • Mkwone #31 1 year ago

    i hope nobody watched franky boyle last night

  • alcides #32 1 year ago

    The whole idea of a fighting game is rather unsavoury. That is, fighting games without spinning lightning uppercuts or fireballs or aerial scissors sisters.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #33 1 year ago

    "The game is just a start" is an extremely bad slogan on any ad for a fighting game. Personally that is far more worrying than the complexion of the people on the poster.

  • mingster #34 1 year ago

    I wish the game was as good as it looks in the advert.
    Can you even get someone in a headlock in the game?

    It should be banned for false advertising.
    I want to beat the crap out of a generic 'gang' looking person by inflincting realistic punches, groin and head kicks, nipple cripples and wedgies.
    Edited by mingster at 22/12/10 @ 15:23

  • coolbritannia #35 1 year ago

    Sony would like all black people shipped NOT SOLD back to Africa.

    Those racists.

  • rudedudejude #36 1 year ago

    White Powerlol

  • disappointed #37 1 year ago

    To be fair, what it shows is something kids could easily replicate in the playground, not that they needed an example to work from in my day but still...

  • Skooch #38 1 year ago

    What bugs me is that even if the guy in the ad was black, how does that translate to condoning racist violence? If the guy was white would that be condoning homophobic violence? If the guy was wearing a small cap on his head would that be condoning Naziism?

    In almost every advert it is encouraged that there are people of mixed/different races, yet as soon as there is a hint of of anything other than love or happiness suddenly you have to use people of the same race - make your mind up!

  • makeamazing #39 1 year ago

    To be fair, what it shows is something kids could easily replicate in the playground, not that they needed an example to work from in my day but still...

    To be fair kids can get way much more terrible stuff/ideas just watching TV at 7pm at night. I sometimes think the watershed has been skipped by alot of channels, particularly Sky 1. This is an ad for move/fighting game, are we saying people are stupid enough they cannot tell the difference? (actually by the sounds of 8 complaints in there case probably not).

    Also on the racism point, why is this bad, but the PEGI rating icon for racism which is two white characters surrounding a black character acceptible, but this isnt. Perhaps everyone needs to complain about that. /me is sick of this overtly PC world we are living in today. /me rant over.

  • gandhimaster #40 1 year ago

    Reminds me of the south park episode, as in we all just see two blokes fighting but its made into a big deal by idiots over analyzing stuff.

  • RodHull #41 1 year ago

    I'm glad it was banned. Not because of the bizarre claim of it potentially inciting violence (racist or otherwise), but because it is very ugly. Sony really need to change ad agenices. They used to produce slick and striking imagery, now it's all a complete mess. Even Microsoft are having better ad campaigns, and that's saying something.

  • RESIDENT_nEVILe #42 1 year ago

    Black guy and a white guy? Looks like Ed Norton fighting Mickey Rourke, to me :/

  • killyourtv #43 1 year ago

    The pussification of humanity continues unabated.

  • InvisibleCrane #44 1 year ago

    "Lulz at the dildo that is the ps move controller. Poor design. Poor concept."

    If it's such a poor concept then how come it's doing well sales wise?...also can we all please stop with the "PS Move looks like a dildo lolz!" jokes, they wern't funny back when the design was first shown and they still are not funny today

  • Akira_Tenshi #45 1 year ago

    Crappy advert for a crappy game.
    Sony is always getting into trouble for their adverts. Like the White PSP advert that had a white person aggresively holding down a black person, it said "White PSP is coming" That got banned to when everyone shouted racism. I personally think Sony do it on purpose though.

  • Dizzy #46 1 year ago

    Racism? Looks more like false advertising to me.

  • mAc062 #47 1 year ago

    What kind of moron could take offence at that, how do they live their lives. It would probably be a lot less stressful for them to end it now.
    Edited by mAc062 at 22/12/10 @ 19:41

  • TwitchyMcTwitch #48 1 year ago

    Ok, so where is the black guy they're talking about? I don't see him.

    Btw, the original article on kotaku doesn't seem to mention anything about race.
    Edited by TwitchyMcTwitch at 22/12/10 @ 20:41

  • Broken_Hands #49 1 year ago

    Lesson learned; i'll only punch dudes of my own race!

  • BuddyChrist #50 1 year ago

    White metrosexual male brings on the pain to a hefty Mr. T-esque black guy.... Yeah that's racist! Why is the honkey so feeble?!

    Where's the oriental guy? And the Indian? The policeman, the builder... ?

    Political correctness shite again.

  • gjgjg #51 1 year ago

    Down with this sort of thing!

  • SeesThroughAll #52 1 year ago

    The poster is horribly ugly. That alone is reason enough to ban it.

  • RodHull #53 1 year ago

    @gjgjg

    Careful now.

  • Bluetooth #54 1 year ago

    @BuddyChrist

    The term "oriental" has racist connotations - the correct term is Britsh Asian, or British East Asian (to distinguish from South Asians i.e. Indians, Pakistanis etc), much like in America they call them Asian Americans.

  • orangpelupa #55 1 year ago

    @bluettoth
    hmm, maybe its differ from region to other region.

    in my country, chinese people or human that have chinese blood but born in Indonesia, very long time ago called as "cino" or "cina". Its been a racist term.

    but then nowadays, "cino/cina" is no longer racist term. Same word, but the racist meaning already gone.
    also sometime called "Tionghoa" that word also nowadays have lost its racist meaning.

    that words become normal non-racist words :D

  • Valland #56 1 year ago

    Only in America.