UK watchdogs tuning in to misleading game adverts

At the risk of starting a cross-Atlantic flame war, let me profess my adoration for the UK’s no-nonsense approach to advertising. Perhaps most famous in tech circles for going after Apple’s infamous hyperbole, watchdog groups in the UK have actually brought number of questionable advertising claims under the eye of scrutiny, and with marked success.

Activision is the latest company to feel the sting. Three viewers reported questionable television advertising for two Call of Duty titles to the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), and the ASA concluded that the ads were unacceptable. The complaints said that the graphics portrayed in advertisements for Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty: Big Red One were simply too good. The advertisement for CoD 2, meant in part to highlight the new graphical capabilities of the Xbox 360, features highly detailed, gorgeous 3D World War II battle action. The complaints charged that the advertisements were suggesting that the graphics in question are those of the game itself when they clearly are not. Those complaints are correct: nothing aside from a general theme connects the visual representation of the game in the advertisement with the actual visual quality of the game. Furthermore, the advertisements were not labeled in such a way to raise the issue with viewers. As such, the ASA has put the kibosh on those advertisements. Similar TV spots are running inside the US right now.

Activision’s position is that it is "common practice" to promote products this way in the industry, but not everyone sees it this way. According to reports, the UK’s Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre initially approved the ads under the assumption that they did in fact reflect actual game play.

"The ASA noted that the ads did not include any indication that the images shown did not reflect the quality of graphics of the games. While the scenes used communicated the themes of the game, they were not accurate representations of the graphics in the games themselves. We considered that this was misleading. The ads breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1 (Misleading advertising) and 5.2.2 (Implications). They must not be shown again in their present forms," the adjudication concluded.

For gaming companies, this will likely mean a new approach to advertising in the UK.

While part of being a human being in this day and age includes being wise to the gimmicks of advertisers, their practices can oftentimes be devious. Most people know that a particular food product is not likely to bring you nirvana, SUVs won’t turn you into a cowboy, and Oil of Olay won’t actually make you look 16 again.

Technology advertising is arguably a different matter. Generally speaking, consumers are not as knowledgeable about technology as they are about many other thingsa fact that has led to many benchmark bakeoffs being over-represented in advertisements. When it comes to advertising games, some find the use of prerendered content unacceptable if said content is clearly not labeled as such. The problem is that it’s a slippery slope. While Activision used footage that is not present in the game, many companies use other confusing tactics. For instance, it’s not uncommon for "cut scenes" from a game to appear in advertisements, and yet cut scenes are not truly part of game play and never reflect the actual graphical experience in the game outside of those cut scenes. Where do you draw the line?

In the case of CoD 2, the visual content was related to the game only in spirit. While Activision may be technically correct that its approach is common practice, things will have to change in the UK. Meanwhile, the court of opinion is still out. Suffice it to say that from where I’m sitting, it strikes me as somewhat embarrassing for a company to usher in the next wave of console hotness with prerendered video celebrating just how great the next generation is.