ASA: Video games are being advertised responsibly

Following a report launched on the back of the Byron Review, UK regularity body the ASA has vocally backed the UK games industry by stating that games are advertised responsibly.

A recent report from the organization assessed broadcast and non-broadcast ads for video games that appeared in all media between April and June 2008, which covered 130 titles and 241 individual ads.

In total the ASA found that just one ad was unacceptable – a TV spot for Sega title Condemned 2. The overall compliance rate was 99 per cent.

The report concluded: The compliance rate of over 99% suggests that video games are being advertised responsibly and in line with the CAP and BCAP Codes and that advertisers are targeting their ads at the appropriate audience age groups.

We acknowledged that children may be exposed to unsuitable video games through other channels, such as peer group discussions on social networking sites, internet forums, in the playground, sharing of the games among friends or downloading them from dedicated gaming websites.”

To read the report in full, click here.

A version with ASA’s appendices can be downloaded from the ASA website.