ASA launches violent ad probe

via Games Industry


The Advertising Standards Authority has announced that it will be launching an investigation into the use of violence in advertising, in what is being seen as a move in anticipation of the results of the Byron Report.

The ASA also claims that the report is in response to an increasing number of complaints over time about violence and aggression in advertising, according to an article in Marketing Week.

The report will look at the ASA's past judgements, with a debate launched by chairman Lord Chris Smith on how violent imagery should be used in advertising, and how children should be protected from harmful or offensive ads.

The conclusions will then be used by the ASA's council to influence future decisions on whether or not adverts are appropriate.

Previously a number of videogame publishers, including Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Konami, Activision and Sony, have all fallen foul of ASA judgements.