Agency Spy

Wieden and Kennedy Amsterdam just got their butts handed to them on a platter when their recent ad for Electronics Art game Burnout Dominator got banned by the Advertising Standards Authority in Europe. The slogan? “Inner peace through outer violence.” Nice copywriting, no?

The ASA received 37 complaints from members of the public. The posters linked the game to a fake movement created by the ad firm called Kahrashin in which members “join in ritual destruction to rid many angers immediately.” You know those Wieden kids. Always trying to be all edgy and thinky. The Guardian reports that:

“Despite receiving advice from the Committee for Advertising Practice, which said the ad might be seen to condone violence, EA went ahead with the campaign believing the ads obviously promoted a computer game and did not support real-life violence.”

The CDs over there should of been stopped in their tracks. The line between promoting violence in the real world and pimping a video game is as thin as Nicole Ritchie’s arm. Think about it… They’ve created a fake society that is all about violence. Odds are some dim witted kids are going to take that concept to create a first life, real world version. Sad, but true. Anyone remember what happened after the film Fight Club got released? Besides, all the recent talk about game playing being an addiction and stimulating aggression should of been a huge heads up as to how the the advisory board, as well as consumers were going to judge this campaign. It’s a beautiful print ad. Art directed to the nines (anyone know who did it? - agencyspy AT mediabistro DOT com). It’s a shame really that more foresight wasn’t employed.