ASA Adjudication on Electronic Arts Ltd

Ad

A TV ad, for the console game ‘Dragon Age: Origins’, included footage of action sequences and fighting scenes. The voice-over stated “We are blessed warriors. We are tormented by pain. We are filled with wicked powers. I am the grey warden. Together we will make our stand, together we will save this world ... ”.

Issue

A viewer challenged whether the ad was misleading, because she believed the footage shown would be replicated in the game itself. However, she had bought it and found that was not the case.

BCAP TV Code

Response

BioWare said the ad was not intended to represent gameplay; it was created with an over-stylised look on a white background to show the characters and story rather than to recreate or enhance the gameplay itself. They said an agency had consulted with Clearcast, who had approved the ad, on their behalf; Bioware had since realised, however, that the agency had mistakenly understood the footage in the ad to have been rendered using the game engine and therefore did not ask Clearcasts advice about any on-screen text that might be necessary. They said they had taken steps to ensure a similar error in communication did not occur in future.

Clearcast said they considered the graphics were not likely to mislead viewers, because the ad was clearly a trailer intended to introduce the characters of the game and their story. They said the action was shot to mimic a film trailer and at no point had they believed it represented gameplay, because the shots were not typical of those seen in games and were not viewed from the perspective of a player. Clearcast felt the voice-over that explained the story also made clear that the ad was a trailer rather than a depiction of gameplay. They said that sometimes on-screen text would be included if there was a suggestion that the ad might include gameplay sequences; however, they believed the error in communication about the origin of the footage was irrelevant, given that the ad was clearly a trailer.

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA noted the ad was not intended as a reflection of the players experience of the game but as a trailer. We considered, however, because it did not state otherwise, that viewers would expect the footage shown to be actual game footage; we considered the ad should have made clear that was not the case. We concluded that the ad was misleading.

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rules 5.1.1 and 5.1.2 (Misleading advertising), 5.2.2 (Implications) and 5.2.3 (Qualifications).

Action

The ad must not be broadcast again in its current form. We told BioWare to ensure they made clear in future if footage in ads was not actual game footage.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)