I hope Lily’s Garden isn’t next. Where else can you see Yoshikage Kira run away from a pregnancy scare?
So you’ve probably, at some point, used an app that’s supported by ads. Which means you’ve probably seen a completely bullshit ad for some mobile trash game that completely misrepresents said game. And it may have come in the form of one of those puzzle ads, where one character has to move some pins strategically to get the treasure/woman/food/etc. on the other side without getting covered in lava/acid/sharks/etc.
Well, it turns out that a prominent user of those ads is in hot water; that’s right, those ads have been banned. Playrix, which runs Homescapes and Gardenscapes is now banned from using these ad for their games. According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) these ads don’t actually represent the content of these games (what a shocker). Hence the ban.
Playrix, on the other hand, argues that that is not the case. They state that the ads are thematically similar to the game they represent, and that each game has thousands of levels, with each one containing a “match three” style game.
Per the ASA:
Playrix believed consumers would take from the ads that the games contained the content seen, as well as similar content involving similar characters.
Also that the games would have the same design and mechanics, alongside similar gameplay. They believed that the ad appealed to the logic and problem-solving skills required to win during the games.
They also believed consumers may have thought that their games were not straightforward ‘match-3’ titles, but would include a variety of mechanics.
The ASA found that these ads broke 3 CAP code rules due to misleading advertising, qualification, and exaggeration. From now on, ads for these games will no longer be allowed to appear in the form that earned these complaints.
Source: UNILAD
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