Adverts for GTA San Andreas have been banned from being shown before the watershed on UK television, after 8 complaints from concerned parents.
Parents say the adverts were shown before 2100 GMT, when children could have been watching. Some adverts contained scenes of violence and the use of guns, whilst another showed the spraying of graffiti and use of guns in a drive-by shooting. One claim said the advert was shown at 1830 GMT whilst their children watched Scrapheap Challenge on Channel 4.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) were asked to investigate, and on Wednesday announced that the adverts had been banned until after the watershed (9PM), because it was concerned about their “threatening violence”.
“We could understand the parents’ concerns that it was inappropriate for young children to see this level of violence in advertising for a product which was only available to adults”
– Advertising Standards Authority
Rockstar Games said its policy was not to advertise a product around programmes where less than half the audience was below the age required to buy it.
Source: BBC News