Sony Removes Offending Nigerian Remark From Ad

[John Funk]

Sony Removes Offending Nigerian Remark From Ad

In the wake of the Nigerian government objecting to its portrayal as a nation of spammers, Sony has edited the offending PS3 Slim commercial to now only offend the family of the late Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.


There isn't much to say here. It looks like Sony got the message from Nigeria [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/94551-Nigerian-Government-Demands-Sony-Apologize-for-PS3-Ad], and while we could debate all day whether or not this was a necessary change to make, and whether the Nigerians were being overly sensitive or if they had a point, let's be frank: It's probably for the best.

The new commercial is exactly the same as the last, except with the Nigerian line being replaced by "Bernie, you can't believe everything you read on the Internet - that's how World War I got started." A statement from the estate of Archduke Ferdinand [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Franz_Ferdinand_of_Austria], whose assassination sparked the powder keg of the first World War, is expected to be forthcoming.

But hey. it's that Kevin Butler bastard saying it. And you should know not to trust him [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/94638-Buy-a-PS3-Slim-or-Sony-Will-Sleep-With-Your-Wife] by now.

(Via VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2009/09/11/sony-pulls-nigerian-bit-from-its-commercials/])

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[The Infamous Scamola]

I knew it! Goddamn those Serbian nationalists for spreading all those lies about the Archduke and his habit of posing as a 13 year old girl in chatrooms. Damn them!

 

[Quadtrix]

They should have kept it in. Damn Nigerians just can't handle the truth.

 

[Legion]

So now descendants of his family are going to complain, or maybe World War 1 veterans for trivilaising the war for a gaming consoles advert.

 

[SharPhoe]

*Sigh* It's a shame, too, because that joke just isn't as funny...
Unless there's something about Ferdinand I don't know?

 

[Altorin]

I JUST saw the commercial on Discovery and it still mentioned Nigeria.

So it's still floating around, and hey, there's always youtube.

 

[AmrasCalmacil]

I don't get it.

Is he sleeping with Archduke Ferdinand's wife?

 

[Altorin]

*Sigh* It's a shame, too, because that joke just isn't as funny...
Unless there's something about Ferdinand I don't know?

honestly, I thought it was just as funny, because the slob's reaction was just like "wtf?"

 

[MarsProbe]

Lame. Maybe one day, someone will finally turn round and say no. Until then, I guess we just have to make do with toothless ads like this. Mind you, in a world where ads can be shot down on the basis of a single complaint from just one person, there's really not much hope.

A total aside, but directed at TheInfamousScamola - is your avatar from Waltz with Bashir?

 

[CyberKnight]

Mind you, in a world where ads can be shot down on the basis of a single complaint from just one person, there's really not much hope.

Well, not from a company that pulled their game of the year off the shelves at the last minute because someone objected to one of the songs.

Still, makes me wish someone in Sony's ad department would just snap and go for an ad featuring Muhammad, Jesus, and Buddha playing God of War.

 

[AceDiamond]

Despite my feelings on the company at large, I really don't think they needed to remove it.

 

[Casual Shinji]

And thus, Sony caves in yet again.

Just like with the LittleBig Planet song.

 

[BobisOnlyBob]

Sony - first they make weird adverts, then they insult people, then they quickly cave in to pressure to avoid insulting people. This the Sony cycle of marketing.

 

[TheNumber1Zero]

wow,I'm so angry that they changed half a second...wait,I am upset about it,who knew?

 

[ae86gamer]

They shouldn't have changed it. My anger levels are rising.... ok not really.

 

[squid5580]

Lol I just saw the Nigerian offensive ad on TV. 9:08 pm on 09/11/09. I guess Sony never sent Canada the memo.

Ooops Saturday and I just saw it again lol.

 

[samsonguy920]

Thank you Sigma7

 

[tkioz]

I can see them changing it for the simple reason its not worth the hassle to deal with lawyers. My guess is they just went "meh, stuff it"

 

[Pimppeter2]

Those silly Nigerians and their rebranding techniques

(Look it up)