This is spot on - I submitted my complaint this afternoon.This isn't a disproportional reaction. It's the most offensive thing I've seen a Government do to this industry in history, at a time when we're supposed to have closer links with them than ever. Forget the role of junk food and confectionery companies in all this. The fact is, they're not mentioned and/or highlighted at all in this ultra-negative round of a campaign that's supposed to be inclusive and positive. It's an absolute disgrace.

I also echo the same words, this is just stupid and completely ridiculous. Put it this way, ads like this were not around in the 70's and 80s and even the 90s so why should it be any different. I have been playing games none stop for most of my life and im 36 years old...im still alive!
The Goverment should be ashamed of themselves, its a disgrace.

Incidentally, does anyone know how long we can expect to wait for the ASA to make a judgement on this?

Sad how this was allowed to get through.
We as an industry adhere to strict rules when submitting our advertising, packaging and game code etc....
Does this mean we can now portray NGO's as, money grabbing street 'oiks' who care little for their causes but more for making their quota for the day.
Naive to think the games industry was an easier target than some of the fast-food chains or drink companies. Most notably all who are signed to the Olympics sponsorship and represent a huge proportion of UK investment.
I want Diabetes UK to answer this question: "What stopped you from having an ad with a child holding a Coke and a Bacon double cheeseburger?"

Not only is this advert grossly unrepresentative it reflects poorly on all the charities involved.

Moreover I am surprised by the already huge and continually growing number of adverts - on posters, radio and TV - that the government and these charities are wasting OUR money on.

I have cancelled my monthly donation to BHF and wish I could do the same with the government.

As far as I remember, the ASA are pretty quick when dealing with this kind of thing. I had the confirmation of the complaint submission on Tuesday, and that was only a couple of days after I had submitted.

I remember filing a complaint against The Sun a few years back when they were giving out "full games" that were nothing more than demos. The ASA were quick to warn The Sun about future "misleading" promotions.

You have to wonder, has the damage already been done and will the government say "oh, we're very sorry, we won't do it again" because they will know this message will have already served their misguided purpose.

I just hope they are forced to publish an apology, in the same scale as they ran the campaign.

Surely sitting an reading a book promotes obesity in the same manner.

Yes MCV i use this website every day and have done for as long as i can remember - i'm glad you have been banging down there doors.. i also complained too!
heres my complaint, which i also used a few of your words :)
The latest print ad and tv ad from the Department Of Health's Change4Life campaign depicts a low-lit room in which a young boy is sitting on a sofa, playing on his PlayStation 3. Above this, in big letters, is written: 'Risk an early DEATH. Do nothing
--
This is not true and not only that as a games tester for many years i find it insulting!
Games are educational, and sometimes controversial, but there is NO SCIENTIFIC proof of the link between health and playing games.
Not only that to use a widely used console controller is just not justified for a advert.
The problem is that its not games thats killing our children, its cigarettes and alcohol which is taxed and sold millions of times over by the government, why dont they slate this in adverts?
ridculous!
Put simply, it’s hugely unfair and unrepresentative of the positive effect video games have on the UK’s youth. It’s also grossly inaccurate.

I'd like to see them try and issue the same advert with the kid holding a sky+ remote. I miss the days when tv was responsible for fat kids, I wonder what technology I'll be able to blame when if I ever become a parent.

What an absolute and utter disgusting thing to do! In a time when they are suppose to help us in riding the recession,w e are slapped in the face and kicked in the teeth.
I also submitted my complaint and I will encourage all my customers and friends to do so!

If you check out the current edition of Private Eye, they helpfully point out that Change 4 Life receives a £200m "in kind" contribution from a group called "Business 4 Life" - a coalition including companies such as Nestle, Cadbury, Coca Cola, Kelloggs and Pepsi Co.

The contribution is primarily their marketing expertise - you can read more about them here: http://www.business4life.co.uk/aboutbusiness4life/

Instead of complaining the ASA about the ad being "absurd and insulting" and offensive to the games industry TIGA should be putting out a more measured response and reaching out to the mainstream media to defend our industry.

There's no point denying that playing lots of games is a pretty sedentary thing to do, but pointing out that parents are the ones with the ability to limit their childrens time playing games, not to mention their childrens diets, might be a more mature and reasoned response to the ad - not to mention one that doesn't make the games industry look petulant, immature and out of touch with reality. Why not talk about the parental controls such as "Family Timer" (Xbox 360) that enable parents to control the time their children spend playing automatically? Highlight the ways the industry makes it easier for parents instead of trying to deny any problems at all?

Why not raise the entirely reasonable questions around why games were targeted, instead of other more damaging causes of obesity?

Or, of course, the bigger players in the industry could just join Business 4 Life and help them find a different scapegoat for their next ad ;)

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