Veteran calls out “crass”, “hideous” Modern Warfare 3 advertising

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US Army Special Operations Command paratrooper D.B. Grady has poured scorn on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3′s live-action TV ads.In an article entitled “The Hideous Marketing of ‘Modern Warfare 3′” for the Atlantic, Grady described the “tastelessness” of the commercial series starring Sam Worthington and Jonah Hill as the Vet and the n00b.

“The advertisement trivializes combat and sanitizes war,” he said.

“After ten years of constant war, of thousands of amputees and flag-draped coffins, of hundreds of grief-stricken communities, did nobody involved in this commercial raise a hand and say, ‘You know, this is probably a little crass. Maybe we could just show footage from the game.’”

Himself a veteran of Afghanistan, Grady said the ad’s timing is particularly poor given escalating conflict.

“As Afghanistan intensifies and we assess the mental and physical damage to veterans of Iraq, is now really the time to sell the country on how much fun the whole enterprise is?” he asked.

“Here I point to the giddy howls of one supposed soldier in the commercial as he fires a grenade launcher at some off-screen combatant. War is great, see? It’s like a gritty Disneyland.”

Activision was also criticised for its 2010 Black Ops marketing, which also used the tagline “there’s a soldier in all of us”.

Posted:

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2012/01/03/veteran-calls-out-crass-hideous-modern-warfare-3-advertising/

Comments

"Veteran calls out “crass”, “hideous” Modern Warfare 3 advertising" :: Login/Create an Account :: 66 comments

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DrPhil321Posted:

lol at the people in here who just don't get it.....it's time to wise up.

unclebozPosted:

PISTOLxKILLA It doesnt put stress on actual vets its a game


not true buddy.

i know many civilians who were once in the armed forces and fought in open combat 90% of them have
post traumatic stress disorder and cant bear to even see gameplay because it triggers they're episode even just hearing a simulated sound of a rifle firing in the distance can even bring on an episode. hell virtually anything brings remotely sounding of a gunshot or a scream or even a groan can make them remember.

"but where does stress go into all of this you say?"

stress is the triggering effect of ptsd

this shitty ad is insensitive as **** when you look at it the way a veteran of 2 tours has

in fact i asked my veteran mate who was in the army for 20+ years after i showed him the advertisement he was furious at the insensitivity and "dramatised" explosions


(mind you this is what actuly happens when you see a dead body or you kill someone you will remember for the rest of your natural life it will haunt you regardless of how "tough" or "1337" you are only very few let it ruin they're lives)


sorry for the horrible spelling and punctuation i have Dyslexiar

DRoseMVPPosted:

Rozy Has he seen the battlefield 3 one where they compare the game to real warfare?

He wouldn't criticize that one because it isn't trying to be funny or stupid.

DRoseMVPPosted:

TheMoDiiFii3r WTF is this old hag saying?
i saw that ad, and its efin epic....
old people this days...

Young idiots that have no idea what they are talking about these days...

VEVOPosted:

This relevant to game. Not **** war. Jeez, is the guy stupid?

RozyPosted:

Has he seen the battlefield 3 one where they compare the game to real warfare?

TheMoDiiFii3rPosted:

WTF is this old hag saying?
i saw that ad, and its efin epic....
old people this days...

rockout216Posted:

I don't see any potential reasons this commercial is bad or depicts anything bad. It is just made to show how fun the GAME can be and to be funny.

OasisPosted:

It's a game get over it. The references are all aimed at the CoD network, people that will laugh at the 'in' jokes placed in the ads such as noobtubes and n00bs. It's a ad for the fans of the series.

If you want to think there's more to think and it glamorises war then maybe you need to get a reality check.

Also I've been to Disneyland...it's far scarier than going to war.

XaldinPosted:

It doesnt put stress on actual vets its a game