ASA Non-broadcast Adjudication: Sony Computer Entertainment UK Ltd

Complaint

a. A poster was headlined "STRONG LANGUAGE AND SCENES OF A SEXUAL NATURE HERE."

b. A second poster was headlined "YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S WHITE BITS HERE."

c. A third poster was headlined "TAKE A RUNNING JUMP HERE."

d. A fourth poster was headlined "SAUCY EMAILS WON'T GET YOU FIRED HERE."

All the ads included the web address "yourpsp.com" and the Playstation logo in the bottom left-hand corner.

1. The complainants thought the reference to sex and bad language in ad (a) was offensive, irresponsible and unsuitable to be seen by children. Many of them pointed out that the ads appeared near schools or at bus stops, and believed the product was targeted at young male teenagers. One complainant said the poster was in close proximity to a church.

2. Some complainants thought ads (a) and (b) were likely to encourage or condone violent or anti-social behaviour, particularly among young people.

3. Some complainants believed ad (b) was offensive, demeaning and encouraged the objectification of women.

4. One complainant, who believed the product was intended for young teenagers, thought that ad (b) could encourage owners of the product to take and store indecent photos of other children.

5. One complainant, who pointed out that ad (c) appeared near busy roads, believed it might suggest people should jump near traffic and was, therefore, irresponsible.

6. One complainant objected that ad (d) was offensive.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Adjudication

TBWA London, the agency acting on behalf of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said the campaign was designed to communicate the several different features of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) that included the ability to play games, watch movies, view photos, listen to music and browse the internet wirelessly. They said they intended to highlight the services available to consumers within each of those areas by referring to specific examples and to show it was possible to access those services on the move. They added that each function was made prominent by an icon at the foot of each ad.

They said the heritage of the PlayStation brand was irreverent and tongue-in-cheek and they believed their target audience acknowledged this and expected to be entertained by the brand and its ads. They said they intended the campaign to be humorous and its intended audience, and most other consumers who were likely to see the ads, would see them as irreverent, not offensive. They said they had deliberately chosen language that maintained levels of taste and decency in all cases.

TBWA said ad (a) incorporated a phrase commonly used on DVD sleeves to highlight the fact that films, some of which might contain "strong language or scenes of a sexual nature", could be watched on a PSP.

They said ad (b)'s headline "YOUR GIRLFRIEND'S WHITE BITS HERE" was intended to highlight, in a tongue-in-cheek way, the fact that it was possible to view personal photos on a PSP. They said it referred to a scenario familiar to the ads' target audience: girlfriends complaining that their holiday snaps showed them in a bikini before they got a tan, thereby displaying their "white bits". They said it was written colloquially to reflect how its audience might speak about the scenario.

TBWA said ad (c) was intended to highlight the experience of playing platform-based games on PSP, where a common challenge was to control a character jumping across a gap.

TBWA argued that the headline in ad (d) promoted the wireless internet function on the PSP and specifically that it was possible to use e-mail. They said it referred, in a tongue-in-cheek way, to the fact that, as commonly reported in the media, the sending and receiving of salacious e-mails in a work environment often resulted in people losing their jobs and this problem was not likely to be encountered using PSP. They said the word "saucy" was carefully chosen to reflect an irreverent, rather than offensive, tone.

1. Complaints not upheld

TBWA said, because of the scale of the campaign, it was not possible to ensure that all executions of a sensitive nature were not placed by schools or places of worship; the address of the site did not disclose this.

The ASA noted the headline of ad (a) referred to the ability to watch movies using PSP and, while we acknowledged that some people thought the locations of the ad were unacceptable, considered that it did not contain any explicit language or images that were likely to cause serious or widespread offence to adults or harm children. We did not object on this point.

2. Complaints not upheld

We considered that ads (a) and (b) clearly referred to functions of the PSP and the PSP logo was stated prominently. Although we accepted the scenarios suggested by the ads could be inappropriate for some readers, we considered that the ads were unlikely to encourage or condone violent or anti-social behaviour.

3. Complaints not upheld

We acknowledged TBWA's explanation of ad (b), but considered it was more likely to be interpreted to imply the photographing of "your girlfriend's" body parts that were not usually exposed to the sun. While we acknowledged that some readers might object to the statement, we considered that most readers would interpret the heading as bawdy, rather than offensive. We did not think it likely that the ad would demean women or encourage their objectification.

4. Complaint not upheld

Sony informed us that the age of the target audience for the product was 19-25 years. While we appreciated that the heading of ad (b) would be deemed lewd by some, we did not consider it likely that the ad would encourage young owners of the product to take and store indecent photos of other children.

5. Complaint not upheld

TBWA said some unfortunate media placements of the ad, for example on sites near the Forth Road Bridge and Manchester Tram Link, changed the context of the headline for some readers, but they had replaced those posters as soon as they became aware of the possible connotations. They argued that the poster, when viewed in a normal media environment, communicated a gaming experience and nothing more.

We understood Sony had taken immediate steps to remove ad (c) from sites where it was deemed inappropriate. We considered that the heading, in other locations, was likely to be interpreted as referring to a common gaming practice and noted the PSP logo and gaming icon were prominently displayed. We did not consider it likely that people would be encouraged to act irresponsibly or jump near traffic.

6. Complaint not upheld

We noted TBWA's comments on the heading of ad (d), which referred to the console's wireless internet facility. We considered that, while it might be seen as irresponsible or lewd to some readers, ad (d) was likely to be read as a light-hearted comment on the use of a personal e-mail account rather than a work e-mail account. We considered that it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

We investigated the ads under CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Responsible advertising), 5.1 (Decency), 10.1 (Safety), 11.1 (Violence and anti-social behaviour) and 47.2 (Children) but did not find them in breach.