PSP Ads Ruled Tacky, Not Offensive
Some of you may remember the PSP ads here in the States from earlier this spring – the ads featured talking baseballs, rats and squirrels, all looking like they had just been in a losing fight with a dust bunny. They were all pretty odd (the ads on TV with the baseball even had a Boston accent) and didn't say much about the product itself. Well, apparently over in the UK, Sony decided that they'd skip the oddball characters and go with something a little more shocking: innuendo.
Though the series of poster ads, which promoted an interesting mix of sex and suicide, received 45 complaints from consumers, the British advertising authority ruled that because Sony did not use any explicit language in the posters that they are not liable for any fines. In the US, of course, even mentioning the idea of putting up such posters would bring down the wrath of the FCC and thousands in fines.
