So, there has been some controversy surrounding the above ad for Activision and Treyarch‘s new game Call of Duty: Black Ops.
What strikes me as ironic is that, for obvious reasons, they don’t actually show any people being seriously injured in the ad. The actual game, like many another video game released over the past two decades, is full of violent scenes that depict CGI figures that look like humans being shot and stabbed. And yet, I have to admit that I think this ad is more disturbing than the game itself.
What I can’t figure out, though, is why exactly that is. I guess it’s just because the people in the ad aren’t dressed like soldiers, and thus viscerally remind me of random terrorists or criminals rather than members of the military.
