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PSP ads escape UK ban

Despite 45 complaints, Sony Europe's PSP ads won't face a ban in the UK, says ASA.

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Sony's European gaming arm has escaped censure in the UK despite a barrage of complaints from the public about a high-profile poster campaign. The series of advertisements for the PlayStation Portable, created by TBWA London on behalf of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, drew 45 complaints from the public.

The posters in question used four lines: "Strong language and scenes of a sexual nature here", "Your girlfriend's white bits here", "Take a running jump here", and "Saucy emails won't get you fired here". The adverts were run primarily on billboards and buses, as well as other outdoor sites.

According to the Advertising Standards Authority, complainants alleged that the adverts encouraged "violent or anti-social behaviour, particularly among young people" and were "offensive, irresponsible and unsuitable to be seen by children". A single complainant was offended seeing one of the adverts near a church, while another thought that the adverts could encourage younger PSP owners to take and store indecent photos of other children.

TBWA mounted a robust defence of these claims, saying the adverts played on the PlayStation brand's irreverent advertising history, and simply focused on the four features they wanted to highlight: the ability to view and store photos, the ability to browse the Web wirelessly, the ability to play platform games, and the ability to watch movies. All of the complaints were rejected in the Advertising Standards Authority's final adjudication.

The ASA ruled that while some of the adverts could be seen as "bawdy" they were "not likely to cause serious or widespread offence", and it did "not consider it likely that people would be encouraged to act irresponsibly or jump near traffic" as a result of the campaign.

David Wilson, Head of PR at Sony Computer Entertainment UK, indicated to GameSpot that the company was pleased the ads had not been deemed offensive, but was quick to point out that causing offence was never the intention of the campaign. "The campaign did not set out to be controversial. In fact, whilst we set out to be humorous--cheeky, even--we tasked our media buying agency quite stringently with not placing the ads in specific places where they may cause offence."

He also told GameSpot that the response to the campaign had thrown up some points for discussion. "There is a high degree of subjectivity in what some people will find reason to complain about. I feel there is a very interesting debate to be had about the power of words. These creatives were purely words--words in fact that can be seen on the packaging of many other home entertainment media which do not cause the same response."

Further PSP promotion along similar lines may be in the pipeline, although specific details are unavailable at this stage. The full text of the ruling can be found on the ASA's Web site.

124 Comments

  • kappareign

    Posted May 13, 2007 7:22 pm GMT

    "your girlfriends white bits here" lmao

  • theKSMM

    Posted May 11, 2007 4:23 am GMT

    I keep wondering if they're making offensive advertisements by accident or whether they're intentionally generating "buzz" around their products with controversy.

    If it's the former, they need to fire their marketing group.

  • blueflamedino

    Posted May 4, 2007 6:19 pm GMT

    this marketing folies re funny

  • DrKill09

    Posted May 2, 2007 12:38 pm GMT

    I don't see how that is offensive. Someone explain, please.

  • hmking04

    Posted May 1, 2007 8:28 pm GMT

    dn3datomiced-
    Well obviously the PSP fails as a gaming handheld. DS and GBA have completely owned it. And I think its a good idea (and I think they should've done this from the get go) to advertise it as THE must have media unit that also plays games.

  • dn3datomiced

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 8:40 pm GMT

    Man, Sony's trying so hard to be trendy, they're more concerned about getting their "multimedia player" into people's hands than supporting its primary function, and all that tells me is Sony's just not caring about the gamer anymore.

  • kalkhaja

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 11:48 am GMT

    no such thing as bad publicity...sony probably bagged themselves a couple of more sales with the controversy.....

  • bobreturns

    Posted Dec 14, 2006 9:46 am GMT

    i neva saw 1 of them nd im from the UK

  • EMAN2g

    Posted Dec 13, 2006 8:29 pm GMT

    ...wow last time I posted was in July...tons have changed

  • RottenSandBox

    Posted Jul 11, 2006 7:25 pm GMT

    wtf? there just mad that thwy don't have 1

  • aehs

    Posted Jul 8, 2006 12:30 pm GMT

    are bits boobs? haha

  • EMAN2g

    Posted Jul 5, 2006 10:19 pm GMT

    0mg the UK bann p0rn???
    WTF...

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Jun 23, 2006 7:01 am GMT

    dang.....so close. how much ownage would that be if posp was banned from an entire country?

  • XaVee3

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 7:54 pm GMT

    FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION.... I can't believe there's been so much complaint, but publicity is publicity, I guess the people benefitting out of it is SONY>>>

  • Shingo

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 5:17 pm GMT

    If complaints were rejected, why is this news?

  • chrisvenn

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 2:47 pm GMT

    They had the running jump one at a train station i didnt think that was a great place to put it lol

  • Britesparc

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 2:10 pm GMT

    I was gonna make a little post about how I thought the ads were moderately funny without being the least bit controversial, and that it was a victory for common sense, but then I read all the other posts and realised this has turned into quite an intense topic!

    When did an average Sony ad campaign become the jumping-off point for a debate about gun control and different countries' differing levels of crime and/or liberty?! One has to laugh

    Funnily enough, they featured the congressional debate on videogames on The Daily Show tonight (or at least they did in the UK). Hilarious! And that's emphatically not a slam against the States, because I'm sure we have supercilious idiots a-plenty here in the UK too.

  • Nawras

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 1:22 pm GMT

    I had a workshop at TBWA once. We had some laughs about stuff like that

  • DrMario57

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 12:58 pm GMT

    thats one anti sony VILLEGERS!!!!

  • EThugg

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 12:13 pm GMT

    @mhder- The 'right' to bear arms is not the difference. Gun laws only effect those who obey laws. Crimes are not commited by people who obey laws by definition. It's a cultural difference, but not a legal one. There are a number of gun regulations and restrictions in the USA, there is no complete freedom to guns, even there. If you want to debate how violent American's are, there's plenty of arguments to be made. On gun control however, the facts are indesputable.

    Personally, I think every country is uptight and 'wussy', the only difference is the precise arbitrary restrictions enforced in each nation. 45 complaints about these ads are 'nothing', but the 'Nipplegate' controversy in America (Janet Jackson/Superbowl show) was really a complaint by far /less/ than 45 people, yet America has taken no shortage of ridecule for its prudishness over it. And San Andreas? There were no actual citizen complaints over the Hot Coffee issue, it was just some talking heads in the media. If you lot want to make broad statements about a country, at least know the facts.

  • Kravyn81

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 10:36 am GMT

    "45 complaints from the pubilc"

    And what's the TOTAL population of London.

    Yeeeeeah....

  • Townsend8

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 10:12 am GMT

    Everyone is complaining saying that the ads are rubbish, yet isn't the aim of an ad to attract attention? This is exactly what the ads have done, showing that they did their job quite well.

  • SH_Algernon

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 9:55 am GMT

    "Strong language and scenes of a sexual nature here", "Your girlfriend's white bits here"... Is it just me, or does Sony tries to cater to the lowest common denominator audience here?

  • FreakmanJ

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 9:53 am GMT

    TorugotoShinsan, you are the smartest person to post here.

  • tetraswarrior

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 8:19 am GMT


    TorugotoShinsan
    Wow Gamespot are bloody slow. This happened last year.

    "How can he say that about the U.S., the UK banned fire arms and went so far as to ban fox hunting with dogs.
    After the French, the British might possibly be the most wimpy people around"

    At least we don't try to ban videogames because a small part of a breast is shown. Or some smacked up moron decided it would be a fun idea to go and shoot a bunch of random people his highschool.

    And what is wrong with banning guns? You know it's nice to know that I can walk along the street without being shot it all the time.

    And I take it you don't even know what fox hunting is. What it is is getting a fox, letting a bunch of dogs chase it then chasing them on horseack. The fox will run for miles with these dogs after it in total fear for its life. The fox will eventually collapse due to fear and exhasution. The dogs with then proceed to rip apart the fox while it's screeches can be heard for miles. Finally the "hunters" will pick up the mutilated fox, wave it about and then toss it to one side. All we did was make it illeagal to kill them in that manner. You can use more humane ways like shooting all you want though as long as you have a lisence.

    Ryt on

  • Scammeleon

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 8:13 am GMT

    5 features.
    4 ads.

    A games console, not advertising games...
    Instaed they advertsie what people consider the least exciting aspects...
    I've seen GTA ads, but not much else for games...

  • Scammeleon

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 8:09 am GMT

    So they're not trying to sell it for the games (which is why anyone is buying it) they look like they're saying you can be a pervert anytime, anyplace...
    lol good old sony.
    They're not really insulting, but looking at the four of them together, 3 could be taken sexually. And games consoles have not really gone hand in hand with that.

    Thank god the DS hasn't followed suit.
    "You won't get arrested for chopping up someone's liver here!"
    "Your mouth, blowing; Here!"

  • akira3333

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 7:00 am GMT

    Sony or S-ony-EX looks like there trying for the porn industry,as there loosing in the Film and Game sales for the psp..

  • ajai_dev

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 5:41 am GMT

    WHITE BITS have to find a white one first

  • SnuffDaddyNZ

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 4:17 am GMT

    Obviously these ad's were in mockery of the censorship guidelines you find on movies games or music cd's.

    The take a running jump here ad was the only real controversial one, but it was overshadowed by common sense (because who really wants to jump in front of a train?)

  • nathanfist

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 1:33 am GMT

    Can't they just use cleaner ads. I know people shouldn't complain but the public is almost never pleasable.

  • golden_ashen

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 1:27 am GMT

    The ad campaigns for PSP are rather rubbish, lol, I have one, and it annoys me how the ads do the handheld no justice and make no sense

  • makis

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 12:58 am GMT

    For maxsteel86 and everyone else who doesnt understand GIRLFRIENDS WHITE BITS: it is referring to the fact that you can store photos on your PSP.
    When you go on holiday with you girlfriend she gets a tan but not in certain areas because she wears her bikini. So girlfirends white bits basically means photos of your girlfriend naked (white bits being her untanned areas) - white bits is often used in the UK to mean this.

    I actually found that advert brought a smile to my face as I happen to have several photos of my girlfriends white bits (dont have a PSP though).... So i think that particular advert was aimed at young men, who have a long term girlfriend or open girlfriend who has allowed them to take these kind of photos... its sort of a way of making those guys feel cool about themselves because they have some of these photos, that they understand what the advert it getting at and others dont. I think it is actually quite clever as it makes that inidivdual associate themselves with the product or Sony, that they know something or have done something that others havent. Its marketing by association. Didnt make me buy one but still think it is well thought out.

  • DrMario57

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 12:33 am GMT

    mummy... what does s..e...x...ual mmmean??? And how can i unplu my self daddy? Do i have white bits mummy?

  • Mit_Man

    Posted Jun 22, 2006 12:03 am GMT

    I think those are some awesome ads >.> Totally hilarious.

  • nextgenisps3

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 11:28 pm GMT

    it's rideculous, psp is just plain fun , love it!!

  • stubby_01

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 10:35 pm GMT

    omg... always bashing games..

  • holenjd

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 10:03 pm GMT

    If they are worried about that, then parents aren't raising their kids properly.

  • rynmls

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 8:53 pm GMT

    i like to buy psp inspite of this complaint...

  • captainamazin

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 8:45 pm GMT

    tHATS JUST PLAIN HILARIOUS!

  • GKBeetle

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 8:10 pm GMT

    What the heck does, "Your girlfriend's white bits here," mean?

  • Angel_Belial

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 8:02 pm GMT

    'Your girlfriend's white bits here?' That isn't creative - that is sexist, and Sony is assuming only males will be buying PSPs. They should have put a '/boyfriend's' in there. Plus, Sony has to be crazy to post these things near Churches. Pretty disgusting. I haven't forgotten that Jesus-mocking ad they did a while back, either. These ads certainly wouldn't encourage me to buy a PSP, nor any self-respecting person I know.

  • vaejas

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 6:52 pm GMT

    Offended by words? How quaint.

  • Fallout_red

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 6:16 pm GMT

    Now thats what I call Advertise. Looking for more...

  • mhder

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 5:56 pm GMT

    Restrictive firearm legislation has failed to reduce gun violence in Australia, Canada, or Great Britain. The policy of confiscating guns has been an expensive failure..."

    That may be true but the per capita gun deaths in these countries are much less than that of the USA. On top of that, the USA has one of the highest if not the highest per capita gun related death rates for a developed country - so what sets them apart? The right to bear arms.

  • liam_of_lima

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 5:43 pm GMT

    it is funny how country's have censorship comity's and say they have speech of speech

  • EThugg

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 5:10 pm GMT

    @TorugotoShinsan- No game has been banned in the US for any reason, and Manhunt was just as nearly banned in Britain as San Andreas or Doom 'nearly was' in the US. It was nothing more than talk by some self important people and doesn't reflect even slightly on the country as a whole.

    The overly restrictive gun laws make you safe? I guess that comforts the many people mentioned at http://www.guardian.co.uk/gun/ (amongst other sources) who die from gun crime in the UK everyday. Gun control doesn't work. According to a study "Restrictive firearm legislation has failed to reduce gun violence in Australia, Canada, or Great Britain. The policy of confiscating guns has been an expensive failure..." http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared/readmore.asp?sNav=nr&id=570

    And fox hunting is great, your description doesn't change that. But if you like, we could replace the fox with you and your friends at PeTA.

    @samuelnoir- Banned porn? You're insane. Or joking. Perhaps both. Porn is pervasive and freely available to everyone in the UK. And the US (for the person who rebutted samuelnoir) for that matter.

    @everyone taking the piss out of the campaign- it was immature and ineffective. In fact, so damn immature and ineffective that it has you all talking about it. I hope my point is not lost on anyone.

  • gt4freak1985

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 5:09 pm GMT

    Man poeople here dont know anything about advertising. You dont need a brilliant add to get hype. Just by doing this your mentiong sony's name, the only people who are like i wont buy a psp or sony products cause of this are usually extreme christians or religous people( which i despise them), second a hard core ms or nintendo fan! grow up people!

  • mhder

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 4:53 pm GMT

    -A single complainant was offended seeing one of the adverts near a church,

    -we tasked our media buying agency quite stringently with not placing the ads in specific places where they may cause offence.

    Yeah, real genius

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Jun 21, 2006 3:52 pm GMT

    it's so funny how people take offense at the most ridiculous things. And people jump the gun just because it's a gaming system too.

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