14 DAY TRIAL // It's obvious that Sony's is in no position of making ads or promoting their PS3 anymore. They've lost their touch, or better yet, their mind, by rolling out a commercial just too violent for the gaming public (which happens to include a lot of youngsters). Naturally, the ad was pulled, not that Sony would have sold more PS3 units had it stayed on air.
The advertisement, depicting a pretty injured man (a black eye, scratches, stitches and stab wounds) presented people with the idea that fighting is required to get a PS3 console, with the words: "STOCKS ARE LIMITED. THINGS COULD GET UGLY" appearing at the top of the ad.
Philippa Judith Maartens complained to the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA), as Myadsl.co.za reports, saying that it is irresponsible and offensive, encouraging crime and violence. I haven't seen the ad but I wouldn't go that far. I mean, you have to be a complete knucklehead to not be able to read between the lines. Then again, there are a lot of knuckleheads out there...
Of course, New Clicks Holdings Limited, trading as Musica, said that they won't be using this advertisement again in future. The agreement was of course accepted by the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa, under the condition that it is withdrawn with immediate effect, as the same site mentioned above reports.
As you are surely disappointed that we don't have the original ad for you, we've made another available below, more realistic, in terms of promoting the PS3's advantages. It makes you wonder though, if it's such a good console, why does Sony throw in so many ads? Plus, they must have lost a lot of cash with the withdrawal of this ad, adding up to what they've lost with the PS3 itself. Didn't they see this one coming, or at least assume it was possible for the ad to be rejected?