Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Not upheld.
Ad description
An animated TV ad for the app game "Boom Beach" depicted two soldiers in a sniper tower. One said, "Looks like that gun boat is pointing right at us" and his partner replied, "Don't be ridiculous. Destroying the sniper tower would provide no strategic advantage." The ad then depicted the gun boat firing upon the sniper tower, blowing it up and then it cut back to two soldiers on the gun boat. One said, "I stand corrected Johnson; it is super fun to blow something up that provides no strategic advantage." The end of the ad showed details of how to download the game.
Issue
The ASA received four complaints.
1. Four viewers challenged whether the ad breached the Code because they felt that it glorified violence.
2. Three viewers challenged whether the ad was unsuitable for broadcast when children may be watching.
Response
1. Supercell Oy explained that “Boom Beach” was a strategy game set in a fantasy tropical archipelago and its target market was males aged 18 to 49 years. The ad formed part of a wider campaign which had the overall message that players brought the ‘brains’ and the troops brought the ‘boom’.
In that context, Supercell said the troops executed any strategy the player came up with, whether it was good, bad or a little bit crazy. The ad’s tagline “Come with a plan or leave in defeat” was meant to convey that, without playing on a strategic basis, it would be not be possible to win battles in the game. The purpose of this particular ad was to showcase a plan which did things for fun rather than following a detailed strategy.
Supercell said the ad featured cartoon characters in a fantastical setting and did not depict any real-life violence. The soldier’s statement, “… it is super-fun to blow something up that provides no strategic advantage”, underlined the jocular and playful nature in which the game was advertised. They took care to ensure the ad included no reference to any real-life war situation and noted that the uniforms were generic and represented two teams: one red and one blue. Although they acknowledged explosions were depicted in the ad, there was nothing to suggest their potential effect on human life. They considered the setting of the ad was a fun, fantastical one with cartoon characters.
Clearcast said the characters were not shown to meet an unpleasant end, nor was there any sense of realistic danger. Consequently, they did not consider that the visuals were likely to cause widespread harm or offence.
2. Although no scheduling restriction had been placed on the ad, Supercell said they said they aimed for the ad to air during programming which would have been of particular interest to their target demographic - males, aged 18 to 49 years.
Clearcast considered the ad carefully because violent treatments could be more shocking when the viewer was placed in the role of the protagonist, which was often the reason they gave stricter scheduling restrictions to violent or gory games. However, they considered the style of “Boom Beach” was very cartoony, and therefore, they did not feel it warranted a scheduling restriction. They felt the character style and the action shown were unrealistic, and as such, they felt it was unlikely to upset small children who might be used to seeing that sort of action in cartoon settings. For those reasons, they were happy to clear the ad for broadcast without a scheduling restriction.
Assessment
1. Not upheld
The ASA acknowledged the viewers’ concerns about the ad’s content and the times at which they saw it. The ad was animated which we considered helped to remove it away from being a realistic depiction of war, and because of that, we considered the ad was unlikely to be interpreted as such. We recognised that one party was fired upon with a resulting explosion, but also that the ad did not show any injuries or casualties. We acknowledged the ad showed an act which was likely to have resulted in casualties and that the dialogue said it was a fun thing to do. However, given the context of the ad for a strategic thinking game, the fantastical setting in which that took place and because it could not be emulated by viewers, we considered viewers, including younger ones, were unlikely to associate what had been shown with every day real life. Therefore, we concluded the ad did not condone or encourage violence and did not breach the Code.
On this point, we investigated the ad under BCAP Code rule 4.9 4.9 Advertisements must not condone or encourage violence, crime, disorder or anti-social behaviour. (Harm and offence) but did not find it in breach.
2. Not upheld
Clearcast did not apply a scheduling restriction to the ad which meant it could be shown at any time of the day and around any programming, including that which was likely to appeal to or be targeted towards children. However, Supercell Oy had taken the decision to air the ad around programming which was likely to be watched by the game’s target demographic. As stated above, we considered the ad was fantastical and was unlikely to be recognised as a realistic depiction of war and that it did not condone or encourage violence. For those reasons, we considered the ad was unlikely to harm or cause distress to any children who saw it and therefore was not unsuitable for them to see. Consequently, we concluded the ad was suitable for broadcast without a timing restriction.
On this point, we investigated the ad under BCAP Code rule 32.3 32.3 Relevant timing restrictions must be applied to advertisements that, through their content, might harm or distress children of particular ages or that are otherwise unsuitable for them. (Scheduling), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
