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Killzone 2 Ads Pulled from Toronto Bus Shelters

March 12, 2009 in News comments 12

Approximately 300 Killzone 2 ads that were on display in various Toronto bus shelters were taken down ahead of schedule due to complaints about 'War' and a 'menacing head with glowing eyes' (a Helghast). It appears the initial complainant is a school teacher that noticed these ads near the school he teaches at, though there were various complaints that also popped up from other sources.

As a result, it appears Sony Canada (or as the article states, 'Playstation') is planning on having a 'no post zone' radius around schools, when the ads feature similar themes/products.

Teacher Davis Mirza emailed Sony Canada, which makes PlayStation games, after seeing an ad for Killzone 2 in the bus shelter near his Scarborough school.

"My kids, who come from a lot of different countries, who have to experience violence, who basically come here to seek shelter and safety, that's the stuff they don't need to see," said the Grade 4/5 teacher at Pauline Johnson Junior Public School, near Birchmount Rd. and Sheppard Ave. E.

The central image in the ad is a "menacing head with glowing eyes," wearing a mask with a breathing tube,, Mirza said.

The secondary image shows what appears to be a war zone, "like Iraq," he said.
Shadow of Death via thestar.com »
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  • 2
    tekmosis Mar 12, 09
    And that is why they need to put these types of ads in Vancouver and not Toronto. We're not a bunch of whiny pansies like them Toronto-ers
  • 0
    ShadowJ Mar 12, 09
    oh for god's sake, most of the damn games around are about war, whether it is using swords or guns.

    It's funny though, Fallout 3 had a menacing face but no glowing eyes yet no one complained about that...it must be the eyes that scare people, either that or Toronto are pathetic ¬_¬
  • 0
    GTA_Fanatic Mar 12, 09
    War is real. You can't escape reality forever.
  • 0
    Bale Fire Mar 13, 09
    For christ's sakes these ad companies need to set a god damn code, every time someone complains they pull them down, how are they to get customers that way? If it could offend don't put it up in the first place, and how this gets taken down when billboards advertise "Men 'do it' longer now!" is beyond me.
    • 0
      ShadowJ Mar 13, 09
      Because sex sells, war doesn't ¬_¬
      • 0
        Shadow of Death* Mar 13, 09
        Tell that to the CoD franchise XD
        • 0
          ShadowJ Mar 15, 09
          lol I meant more towards the advertising aspect with my comment. In games war and sex sell (both together and on their own XD) but in public view/advertising, sex is more likely to sell and not be reported as long as the men and women assets are covered up by clothing. This means they can have male and female models in the skimpiest outfits and draped across one another in suggestive positions, along with text that is also suggestive within public view yet they can't have a helmet with a pair of glowing eyes advertising a war game within public view?

          Sure glad the people of Toronto have their priorities sorted. I'm surprised with that kind of thinking that they haven't seen the teenager death toll plummet and the teenager pregnancies go off the chart >_>
  • 0
    GaMeR BoY Mar 14, 09
    Man companies should know or at least check if what their advertising isn't offensive.
    • 0
      Tiger of Wu Mar 14, 09
      That doesn't matter. Even if it isn't offensive, if people bitch about it they'll most likely pull it down so as not to get bad press. Same can be said for most advertising.
  • 0
    tekmosis Mar 16, 09
    yay, was driving down around close to NeoHQ and saw one of these posters at a bus stop. Awesome, we do have some of these ads here.
    • 0
      ShadowJ Mar 17, 09
      Maybe Neoseeker could get the posters that were taken down and pawn them off to create a contest for the members
  • 0
    Fallen Royalty Mar 16, 09
    I live near Toronto and a few days ago my family was driving around and I pointed at a bus shelter and told them what Killzone 2 is because I thought it was a very cool advertisement. I laughed out loud when I read this article.

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