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Last time it was Eidos and IGN, and the offensive topless photo for a contest. This time it’s EA that has also gotten into a disturbing trend of using topless models to promote a video game. While the war rages on about whether video games are a detriment to youth, and demean women, publishers continue to use nude women in publicity stunts to promote their games.
Ads for Need for Speed : Pro Street appeared in Page3 .com, the official ‘girlie’ site of UK tabloid ‘The Sun’. The site regularly features topless models. EA’s ads promoted their Need for Speed title featuring topless models posing with a Ferrari, and the EA / NFS logos above their nipples. According to Games Industry Biz EA has recanted and pulled out of the ad venture.
“We regret that these images slipped through the proper EA approval process,” EA told UK business site GamesIndustry.biz. “They were not appropriate for our brand. The original site has been taken down this morning.”
EA’s representatives and marketing branch knows very well that in spite of insincere apologies and back pedaling, that they have made a big publicity stunt that the knuckle dragging mouth breathers that thrive on internet porn have been sufficiently titillated. Time will tell if EA’s stocks, or the sales of the Need for Speed games increase. I’m betting that they will.
The supposedly “pulled” ads are not too easy to find, but they are readily available to anyone as you can see here. The video featuring the models Becky and Amii are still up on Page3 and the video is on up on YouTube. however the video is not embedable so you will have to watch it from here. The fully nude shoot is on their website.
This will just galvanize female gamers opinions that game publishers propagate sexist imagery of women.
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