ASA Adjudication on Activision UK Ltd

Ad

A TV ad for the computer game, Spyro, featured action sequences from the game including two flying cartoon dragons battling against a large monster that appeared to be on fire. The ad featured scenes of explosions and showed a monster breathing fire in the direction of the viewer. It also showed a second large, green monster running towards the viewer. The voice-over said "For the first time ever fight evil with both Spyro and Cinder. Team up and fly any time as living, breathing weapons of explosive destruction in your quest to defeat the forces of darkness. The Legend of Sypro. Dawn of the Dragon".

The ad was cleared by Clearcast who considered a timing restriction to keep it away from children was not necessary.

Issue

The complainant, whose three-year-old daughter was distressed by the ad, challenged whether it had been scheduled appropriately, because it was broadcast during programming aimed at pre-school children.

BCAP TV Code

BCAP TV Scheduling Code

Response

Activision UK (Activision) said the game featured in the ad had a Pan-European Game Information (PEGI) rating of 7+ and was given unrestricted clearance by Clearcast.  They believed the ad was appropriate in content and tone for broadcast during programming aimed at pre-school children and considered that the ad complied with the Code.  They said they had no plans to use the ad again.

Clearcast did not consider that the visuals merited an ex-kids restriction, which would have meant that it should not be shown in or around programmes made for, or specifically targeted at, children; they noted the ad had a cartoon-like feel and used bright colours that lightened its tone.  They said the most heavily featured character in the ad, Spyro, was a bright pink colour and depicted in an animated style that made him appear cute and cuddly.  Clearcast acknowledged that the ad also featured footage of the scarier looking dragon but pointed out that it was brief and the ad did not feature close-ups of his face.  They considered that the music was exciting, emotive and appropriate for an adventure game of that style.  Clearcast concluded that the ad was unlikely to cause distress to young viewers and therefore did not warrant an ex-kids timing restriction.     

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted the comments submitted by Activision and Clearcast and was sorry to hear that the complainant's three-year-old daughter had been distressed by some of the images in the ad.  While we did not dismiss that upset lightly, we considered that, on balance, that level of distress was unlikely to be realised by most young viewers.  We noted, although the ad featured images of fire-breathing dragons and monsters, they were presented within the context of a fantasy environment.  We considered even young children would recognise that they represented the 'bad' characters and Spyro and Cinder, the 'good' characters, were fighting to defeat them.  

We recognised that it was not always possible to avoid causing upset to all children who saw an ad and also appreciated that some children were likely to be more sensitive than others to certain themes in broadcast material.  We considered, however, that the ad did not contain any material likely to cause social, moral or psychological harm to children.

We concluded that a scheduling restriction in order to direct it away from all children was not warranted on this occasion and the ad had been scheduled appropriately.

We investigated the ad under CAP Broadcast (TV) Advertising Standards Code rules 7.4.1 (Mental harm), 7.4.6 (Distress) and 7.4.7 (Use of scheduling restrictions) and CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Scheduling Code rule 4.2.3 (Treatments unsuitable for children) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action necessary.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)