UK health ad insults game developers
- March 09, 2009 15:07 PM PST
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The UK's Change4Life campaign launched a print ad this month implying that video games lead to premature death, causing a backlash among UK's game developers.
In effort to promote a healthy lifestyle, the UK government has launched a series of ads as part of the Change4Life campaign. However, the most recent print ad became the topic of much controversy among Britain's game developers. The ad depicts a tired young boy holding a PlayStation controller with text that reads: "Risk an early death, just do nothing."
Tiga, the trade organization representing European game developers, responded by saying that the advertisement unfairly targets the game industry with propaganda, and has filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority. Tiga CEO Richard Wilson criticizes the campaign's approach by saying that the ad is offensive and misrepresents the "creative individuals who work to produce high quality games for people's entertainment".
Tiga's statement follows:
March 9th 2009
Tiga lodges complaint about Campaign4Life print advertisement
Tiga has submitted a formal complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority about the Campaign4Life print advertisement. The advertisement, which is supported by Cancer Research, the British Heart Foundation and Diabetes UK, depicts a young boy holding a PlayStation controller beneath the words "Risk an early death. Just do nothing."
Richard Wilson, CEO of Tiga, said:
"This advert is absurd and insulting in equal measure. To imply that playing a video game leads to a premature rendezvous with the Grim Reaper is a non-sequitur of colossal proportions. Alcohol and drug abuse, smoking, obesity and involvement in violent crime are forms of behaviour that risk an early death.
"In contrast, many video games are mentally stimulating, potentially educational and social and some involve physical exercise. 'Brain Training', 'Wii Fit' games or 'Civilisation', 'Singstar' and 'Buzz' are cases in point.
"This advert is offensive to the 30,000 people who work in the UK's video games industry, particularly the 10,000 who work in games development. Game developers are typically intelligent, very qualified and creative individuals who work to produce high quality games for people's entertainment. They are not in the business of driving people to an early grave.
"With nearly a quarter of men and women and almost a fifth of 2 to 5 year olds in England obese we clearly need to encourage a more active lifestyle and healthy diet. It should be possible to achieve this objective without misrepresenting a creative industry of 30,000 people."
The game industry is an easy scapegoat for childhood obesity, but using scare tactics is not going to encourage kids to become more active.
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- Mar 09 2009 at 02:36:17:PM PST
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So I'm assuming and this is based on these ads that we gamers have shorter lifespans,..or am I wrong?
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tparsons5150 wrote:
So I'm assuming and this is based on these ads that we gamers have shorter lifespans,..or am I wrong?
yup, thats what they mean...........
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I hate to play devil's advocate here, but I think we all know that sitting on the couch staring at the TV isn't healthy. The gov. is just trying to get kids to be more active. They had these same ads in the '80s when TV was all the rage, and now thay have ads that show video games in them. So what? As a gamer, I realize that it's difficult to see my entertainment of choice be used in a negative light, but it's for the best.
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Darkstorn wrote:
I hate to play devil's advocate here, but I think we all know that sitting on the couch staring at the TV isn't healthy. The gov. is just trying to get kids to be more active. They had these same ads in the '80s when TV was all the rage, and now thay have ads that show video games in them. So what? As a gamer, I realize that it's difficult to see my entertainment of choice be used in a negative light, but it's for the best.Screw that, kids that spend all of their time reading are at the same risk of this so-called death sentence. It's prejudice, pure and simple.
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i thought his was cured with the Wii??, oh wait 40 year old moms hog up the console....
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Is it just me or is that a PS3 controller he's holding? Are they trying to say that the PS3 will bore you to death with no good games, lol. Also, is that suppose to be a boy, girl or something else entirely?
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If you just play video games, dont exercise, and eat junk food, then yeah it is unhealthy. But the way most parents in america take that ad is by thinking that video games turn you into a mindless, tired zombie that is fat. Playing video games is all right, but if you do it excessively, as well as not exercise and eat junk, then you will become a fat ass.
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VictoryRed wrote:
Darkstorn wrote:
I hate to play devil's advocate here, but I think we all know that sitting on the couch staring at the TV isn't healthy. The gov. is just trying to get kids to be more active. They had these same ads in the '80s when TV was all the rage, and now thay have ads that show video games in them. So what? As a gamer, I realize that it's difficult to see my entertainment of choice be used in a negative light, but it's for the best.Screw that, kids that spend all of their time reading are at the same risk of this so-called death sentence. It's prejudice, pure and simple.
i actually agree. At least you get good hand eye coordination with video games. lol. but with books, you dont do shit but move your eyes back and forth. It's like you're watching a tennis match. And for the people that say kids learn from books, what exactly do they learn? If they already know how to read, what's the point? People just want to find the easiest scape-goat that other people will believe is evil. Though it is unhealthy with the other stuff that i said before.
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The12P wrote:
Is it just me or is that a PS3 controller he's holding? Are they trying to say that the PS3 will bore you to death with no good games, lol. Also, is that suppose to be a boy, girl or something else entirely?
no, they're saying that you get so addicted that that's all you do. Unlike the stupid xbox 360. Yeah, i'm a ps3 fanboy.
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