I know the Dead Island series, especially Riptide, is pretty polarizing with video game fans. The trailers suggested far more emotional gameplay than the open world survival horror/rpg title delivered. Those storylines are in the game, but they're not the focus and you rarely deal with those scenarios while playing. Riptide's advertising campaign has been fraught with controversy. The special edition statue of the ripped up female torso in a bikini was heavily criticized as soon as it was announced.
It is a, shall we say, jarring choice for a promotional figure. What does sexualizing a beheaded corpse have to do with the game? Not much. It was a misfire. Not all ad campaigns and promotional materials are good choices.
What I thought was very effective was the CGI trailer for Dead Island: Riptide. A man and a woman, clearly in love, are on a small yacht in the middle of the sea. An ominous music cue pushes the couple below deck. A romantic piano theme accompanies the couple's embrace in the small quarters. The camera pans up and zombies are trying to smash their way onto the boat. The propane tanks are open, causing waves of gas to ripple against the zombie-obscured sunset. The woman mouths "I love you" to the man before joining his hand on the lighter they will use to blow up the ship and save themselves from becoming zombies.
It is a dark and brutal love story that is meant to shock the viewer. It is a reminder that the zombie apocalypse has landed on Dead Island and it's an either/or proposition. Either your character survives or the zombies thrive. One character type must die to allow the other to take control.
The NSFW and triggery video is embedded here.
I think it's a brilliant advertisement for a game that needed a boost to sell. The critics were kind to Dead Island but word of mouth gave it a disappointing reputation.
I enjoyed the open world gameplay and wide variety of missions to find and reconnect missing persons but others were let down by the constant assault of human zombies. Techland and Deep Silver aimed for naturalism in a zombie game and the lack of more diverse enemies--they're all regular human zombies--played against the standard design for survival horror. If the enemies just increase in number rather than difficulty, it can become repetitive.
Australia's Advertising Standards Board has banned this Dead Island: Riptide ad from appearing on TV in Australia. Why? Suicide.
The Board noted the fantasy content and the stylised nature of the advertisement and considered that the issue of suicide is a depiction of violence which is not justifiable even in the context of an advertisement for a computer game aimed at adults.
The issue of suicide is a very significant community concern and considered that the use of images which are strongly suggestive of suicide is not appropriate in the context of a television advertisement for a computer game.
AIE is distributing the game in Australia and attempted to fight the ASB's decision. Their argument is perfectly valid. Dead Island: Riptide is a game for adults that covers mature subject matter. The advertisement does not sensationalize suicide, encourage it, or depict it in a way that diminishes its impact.
ASB's response basically says they feel any depiction of suicide is inappropriate for any audience in an advertisement. That's a huge restriction to set. Sure, most products would not benefit from an ad featuring this kind of imagery. But a survival horror game, a dark film, or a cerebral novel might have to address it in an advertising campaign.
Now, the ASB has established this standard that suicide cannot be depicted in ads. They've done it under the guise of protecting viewers from violent and upsetting imagery. They either believe an adult audience is not mature enough to ever handle the subject matter or that video games, as a medium, are not mature enough to address significant social issues like suicide. It's a case of censorship by way of overly protective media guides.
I can't tell if they're insulting the intelligence of the target audience, insulting the artistic integrity of the video game industry, or slapping both groups in the face at the same time. Either option is equally depressing to me. The quality of the game is inconsequential to the discussion. The ASB said people and/or games can't handle mature themes, therefore mature themes do not belong on TV advertisements. That's a very limiting view of advertising and video games and it makes me sad for whoever handed down this decision.
What do you think? Share your thoughts below.
