SONY + Bad Ad
Out of context: Reply #63
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Sony Computer Entertainment has dismissed claims that its latest PSP advertising campaign has racist connotations.
The TBWA-created ad, which features a white woman grabbing a black woman’s face with the strapline “PlayStation Portable. White is coming”, came under fire from certain quarters of the gaming community who claimed it was racist.
Sony has hit back saying that the marketing campaign for the launch of the white PSP focuses on the contrast between the black PSP model and the new ceramic white version.
Banner AdThe controversial image has appeared on billboards in Holland, but not in the US or UK, where racial tensions are higher. Sony has categorically said it will not be running the creative in the UK.
Earlier this year a £3 million UK billboard campaign for the handheld console sparked a number of complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) that claimed the ads were offensive and irresponsible.
Posters featuring the straplines “Your girlfriend’s white bits here”, “Saucy emails won’t get you fired here” and “Take a running jump here”, came in for criticism for referring to sex and bad language because they were posted where children might see them. The ASA dismissed the complaints.