Advertisements are done with the intention to boost the sales of a certain product/brand. But are their creativity crossing the fine line of ethics?
Banned X-BOX360 advertisement
Let us imagine if this advertisement is being shown in Singapore. Do you think this advertisement should be banned? Let us apply some of the media theories that we learned in Unit4.
Cultivation theory is definitely in use here. Teenagers will be the first ones to be affected if it is shown on television frequently. Being young and easily influenced by media, teenagers will create a false reality on how reality is like a game. Gamers themselves will be even more enticed by gaming and social influence might play a part in the long run. Media determinism will also be valid since television has impacted us one way or another, merely through the information that it provides.
Agenda setting theory and media hegemony will be in place too. Why? Governments are likely to ban this commercial because it depicts violence and gaming. Imitation of such acts of violence in real life can be one of the key reasons, which might result in an increased number of crimes. Furthermore, being a country whereby education is the top priority in order to survive here, I am sure the government will not risk having students being obsessed with gaming. That is probably the reason why we do not see much gaming consoles' commercials on television in Singapore.
Theories aside, you can appreciate how innovative this commercial is. Despite all its negative aspects, I believe this commercial can be an effective tool in increasing the sales of X-BOX360 consoles. What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
This is one of those creative commercials that we wonder at times why governments ban it. I feel it does not really depict violence. If Singapore has to ban this, they have to ban so many other shows. Almost any other shows depict violence. In this case, there is no blood, no real injuries and the like. People can tell that they are acting in the show. We can see that from the last part where the person in the driver seat delayed his "death". It is much more of a skit like commercial. Perhaps they might be other factors that leads to the video being banned.
violence is an example of using shock in advertising. 'shockvertising', is a controversial subject as it walks on the fine line between what is acceptable and what is not.
at the end of the day, the message of the advertiser is 'to buy the x-box'. yes, it can be argued that many of the nedia theories are present, but let us keep in mind: are more conservative countries like Singapore an intended audience?
the advertisement might be created with the more liberal American audience as the intended audience. as such, it might be the reason behind the choice of delivery method. if it's going to be a advertisement for our local consumption, then it'll definitely be different.
Haha, this is one creative way of advertising, even though it is SO LONG...
Yeah, i do not understand why is this ad banned, wherever it is. Perhaps it was not banned, just taken off the screen because it takes up the time of other advertisements!!! It is possible!!!
i think it is quite relevant and creative. you can't expect those guys in the advertisement to hold even toy guns right? that would even arise public dis-array.
Hmm, i personally feel that it is banned probably because it signifies certain elements of public unrest. The moment those two people started pointing "guns" at each other, everyone else in that building did the same. Furthermore, that main actor went out and point it to the taxi driver for no reason. It gives me the feeling of Grand Theft Auto (GTA) games whereby you can go around on rampage, killing everyone in sight.
I think that this advertisement is actually quite innovative so I do not understand why it is banned.
However, one funny irony that I've noted is that if the media regulators chose to ban the ad, why can't they do anything about the gun control issues in the US? (Assuming that this ad was banned in US) Is the government trying to silence the people by hiding their contradiction or their unjustifiable policies?
As I thought more about it, I just felt that it is quite silly to ban people from stretching their imagination on X-box games when they themselves are not doing anything to solve the gun control issues. And also, they should first act as a good role model before banning such ads.
Wendy, i believe that the US didn't address the gun control issue because they have hunting as a sport. That's probably why they allow people to purchase license and guns. Furthermore, i think the US has a lot of black markets for firearms. Considering that it's such a big country, i'm not surprised that they are unable to control gun issues.
Perhaps the authorities are being overly-cautious there. After all, its just a game advertisment. But we have to consider the fact that kids nowadays, are bombarded with media messages from all medium. Perhaps, the authorities are just doing their part to eliminate unnecessary risks here.
Post a Comment