UK regulator bans Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 ad over sexual violence complaints

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 commercial, saying it trivialized sexual violence. The ad can’t run again in its current form. I can’t see anything obviously offensive about the ad, but you can see the ad below and just for yourself:

In the spot, fake airport security staff are covering for the “real” team because they’re “off playing the new Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.” A male passenger is told he’s been “randomly selected to be manhandled,” and the scene escalates into sexualized threats during a “security check,” including a line telling him “she’s going in dry.”

According to the ASA ruling, the regulator received nine complaints arguing the ad “trivialized sexual violence,” driven by “the humiliation and implied threat of painful, non-consensual penetration of the man.” The ASA agreed and ruled the ad caused serious offense.

Activision Blizzard argued the game is rated 18, the ad was restricted to an “ex-kids” schedule, and that it was meant to be implausible parody with a comedic tone rather than harm or abuse. The ASA didn’t buy that defense and told the company to make sure future ads are socially responsible and don’t cause serious offense, including by trivializing sexual violence.

The ASA also looked at two separate complaints claiming the ad encouraged or condoned drug use, but didn’t uphold those. The regulator said viewers were unlikely to interpret it as promoting drug use.