Possible lawsuit over health campaign advert
Change4Life, a British government health campaign, has been marked with a bullseye, and Sony Europe's got the lawsuit bat in hand.
Change4Life's most recent ad features a little boy slumped back with a game controller in his hand -- guess which controller it is? It's not a huge surprise, to be sure. Many stock photos in advertising use PlayStation controllers, and TV ads (or shows) aren't exactly discriminating. Needless to say, most of us won't think twice about it.
But Sony Europe might not let this one go. The ad campaign in question visually links video games to early death, which is enough to generate official complaints to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority by game developers Tiga and website MCV. Guess no one wants to be associated with the words "early death."
MCV reported the likelihood of Sony Europe suing the ad agency:
A source close to Sony revealed to MCV that the agency behind the ad, The Gate, had not contacted the platform holder to ask about using a controller that bears a close likeness to PlayStation's pad.
The ad forms part of the Government’s Change4Life Campaign, and was created by agency The Gate in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK and Diabetes UK.
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NOt the lawsuit but about the ad
Sony should sue
Cause Video games dont kill people
People kill people
Also, the only way video games can kill people is by making them so addicted they don't eat, drink, or sleep.
I agree, Sony should sue.
everyone got school/jobs to attend to
I work a part-time job and I spend 8-12 hours a day on games, well actually 12 hours would be on the PC and surfing the net, 8 hours would be games. Either way, yes my sleeping pattern is crap and yes I have a "belly" due to lack of exercise but even still, according to my doctor I am pretty much healthy, just a little overweight.
Fact of the matter is, this ad is directly attacking videogames when TV and watching movies can do the exact same thing. In fact if I ever become a parent, I would rather have my kid play games and socialise with friends through gaming than sitting on the sofa, zoning out to crappy TV and repeats of the same programs day in and day out.
Not only that but yes Sony should sue, not because they are being associated with "early death" but because from a business point of view, it can seriously damage their reputation while their rivals Nintendo and Microsoft aren't in the spotlight, reason I say this is because today's society judge on first impressions and they can take in what they see.
Many people will see that advert and think "well I am not buying Sony products again...they could kill my kid!" yet not think twice about buying the exact same product from a different brand. That's what Sony is sueing for.
If the campaigners wanted to strike gold then they would have been smart enough to place all the companies into one advert and surround the child with consoles etc. Instead they singled out one company.
Exactly, don't get me wrong, I watch TV but with today's technology of being able to record it and watch it later...I simply watch around 3 hours and that includes the hour I sit and watch TV when eating dinner.
With games, there is a more interactive sense about it purely because I am communicating and playing against real people in real time.
Fact is, games can only kill if the gamer is stupid enough to "veg out" in front of the console 24/7. Then again these days kids between the age of 10 and 20 are either hanging on street corners, causing trouble, committing crimes, drinking in pubs/on parks or dabbling in drugs...in other words not many are playing games