Turn on the TV in basically any city, any country really, and you’re bound to see a handful of sexed up commercials promoting some product. Many of these make it to TV and often we don’t think twice because it has just become so common. Sex sells and everyone knows it well. Yet hypocrisy once again displays its ugly head in the most recent public anti-gaming statement. I speak of the “sexualized” Top Spin 4 commercial which shows Serena Williams and actress Rileah Vanderbilt playing the game in tight revealing clothing while suggestive moans can be heard in the background. Now, some might ask what makes me so sure this is some kind of attack on gaming; let’s explore that.
Has this commercial been chastised or pulled from TV because there is a muscular shirtless Terry Crews shown in the shower presumably naked, then dancing around in a red swimsuit to promote an Old Spice product?
How about this smoking hot Kim Kardashian commercial which shows a suggestive workout session with plenty of verbal sexual innuendo and slow panning shots of her sweaty body in a sports bra. It’s a great commercial without a doubt, and far racier than Serena William’s Top Spin 4 pusher.
Body wash and sneakers; necessary and favored American institutions. No doubt representatives of Old Spice and Sketchers are rolling around naked in the piles of money the sales these commercials alone have garnered. So why is a commercial for a sports video game that clearly demonstrated significantly more pertinent information in reference to its product creating such a stir? A professional tennis player was doing what she does for a living. Last I checked a leotard leaves more to the imagination than Mr. Crews red speedos and Mistress Kardashian’s work out gear. As far as activity goes, we’re talking about showering and a personal workout session with a shirtless pretty boy versus playing tennis. I mean sure the sounds female tennis players make can be misconstrued by dirty minds and the outfits are cute, but nothing can change the fact that it is a popularized sport that is televised and promoted with little issue. Meanwhile the nature of content in the other two promos has been known to slap R ratings onto movies and M rating onto games.
Gaming is simply not viewed in the same light as other products of general necessity and pop culture. I’m not arguing that a video game is less important in life than personal hygiene and footwear, but pulling the commercial in question off the air was not a decision made out of the defense of decency. It was a statement to discourage the product and the intended audience.
It saddens me further that 2K games actually chose to deny the finalization of the commercial and claimed that they did not mean for it to ever be shown. Letting an entire commercial make it to air without being authorized by the company and advertisement agency is not a “mistake” that is typically made. 2K wanted to save face, whereas EA games proudly stood by their products when Dead Space 2 and Bulletstorm ads were attacked by the press earlier this year. There is nothing wrong with the Top Spin 4 commercial. If nothing could be done about its restoration, at the very least its developer could have shown some backbone.
Post contributed by Matt J. Randisi. Questions for the author? Send an email to Mjrandisi@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SaveUsMatt.
