Advertising authority slaps Microsoft over TV ad

Microsoft Corp. has gotten a backlash from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the UK concerning an advertisement for the Xbox 360 console that shows street car racing. The ASA believes that the Xbox 360 advertisement "gave the impression that reckless street car racing was exciting and fun".

According to the organization, nobody should glamorize the activity or condone it and said that Microsoft did both in its judgment. The organization did note however that the Xbox 360 advertisement did make it clear that the driving was staged and performed by professionals and did warn that the activities should not be copied.

Unfortunately, the ASA decided that the precautions taken by Microsoft were not enough to allow it to be shown, even though it had only been shown after 9pm, and that the ASA only received one single complaint about it.

Source:
Reg Hardware

Written by: James Delahunty @ 6 Apr 2007 16:33

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11 comments

theridges

"gave the impression that reckless street car racing was exciting and fun".

Well it is lol...
not Safe and Very Stupid to do but nonetheless its fun....

6.4.2007 16:42 #1

Pride1

Originally posted by theridges:"gave the impression that reckless street car racing was exciting and fun".

Well it is lol...
not Safe and Very Stupid to do but nonetheless its fun....
They stated the obvious, should have said ILLEGAL

anyways making a fus about this? WTF people?

6.4.2007 17:34 #2

vinny13

Man, some people these days. This remindes me of that Dove commercial where a whole bunch of 50+ women are naked. It doesnt show anything, the worst is a bare leg or somethin', but they'll still pull it for showing "too much skin". Yet in Europe they have completely naked women in in a quarter of their commercials :S

6.4.2007 20:12 #3

webe123

Wonder how they will take the new GTA IV commercials? LOL!

6.4.2007 23:10 #4

NexGen76

People are so dam sensitive today.

7.4.2007 05:59 #5

limelight

Originally posted by webe123:Wonder how they will take the new GTA IV commercials? LOL!"Hopefully, things will be different".

hehehe.

7.4.2007 06:00 #6

Auslander

this is un-friggin-believable. honestly, what the hell? how stupid is the average person that the government needs to "worry" about them like this? when things are this bad, people *need* to die, as we're taking a step back in society, civilization, damn probably evolution.

7.4.2007 11:39 #7

plazma247

Its such a strange world when we grew up with adverts like:

Triumph Herald 1960s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyaLibkqvC8

Ford Capri 2.8 injection 1981
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reL42t1E1fE

saab 900 add in 1988
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDnQ8wxzyD8

in the 60s,70s and 80s ;-)

DAM YOU Mary Whitehouse with your inflicted views of morality.

8.4.2007 15:55 #8

trainmstr

I hope the "Mary Whitehouse" comment wasn't directed towards the USA. This is some European crap ... which really surprises me honestly. But again ..the same European Union that forced some super small store called Lik - Sang to close for exporting PSP's because of "safety concerns."

Don't EVER confuse Europe with the USA ...although we don't show naked women on basic television ... this isn't an example of what goes on here.

I do recall one commercial though that was pulled here recently ...the corvette commercial where it showed a child driving it.

I sure as hell hope everyone everywhere can get their heads on straight and do away with this politically correct shit ... What happens now ..i'm offended that anyone would ever take down a commerical about the xbox360 ..what about my rights?

12.4.2007 09:05 #9

plazma247

Nah no dirrection made geographically in any direction chap other than at the continual spiral we are slowly slipping into censorship hell.

Come on, its not like they stopped any of the adverts for fast n furious from ever making it to the screens.

or any of the cuts from the dukes of hazzard... its just funny how they are able to look away when it suits....

AND no just two car films i pulled at random.

And besides ive just realised ive some how ended up fighting ms corner lol so im gona leave it there....

And remember, all the driving you have seen has been performed by trained poffesionals under controlled conditions. Keep the racing on the streets and fly down the track... eak i think i remembered that wrong... or did I ?

13.4.2007 12:24 #10

Sinfrax

Originally posted by trainmstr:the same European Union that forced some super small store called Lik - Sang to close for exporting PSP's because of "safety concerns."
It had nothing to do with the European Union, it was all Sony, get your facts straight before you go around blaming the wrong people.

Also, it wasn't a super small store, it was really well known. It was small in that it only had about 30 people working for the company but other than that it was hugely popular.

14.4.2007 09:16 #11

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