According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), there were three complaints about YouTube ads for games that appeared to sexually suggest characters who appeared to be minors.




Britain's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which regulates advertising in the UK, has posted ( link ) On August 27th, YouTube made a decision about ads promoting a game that is part of the High School DxD franchise.

The advertisements were described as "three paid-for YouTube ads for CTW Inc," which is a videogame company based in Tokyo.

According to the ruling, one advert features "two anime girls... (looking) at the viewer over naked shoulders." The text included phrases such as “Official High School...All rise for the gentlemen's harem" and "titillating browser game."

In another advertisement, there are depicted three female characters from an anime series, along with expressions like "amazing game with big breasts", "enjoy filling your hands with this game", and "high school setting".

The third advert features an anime girl where, according to the ruling, "The profile of her large breast was visible. Her thigh, buttock and string-style knickers were partially obscured by the word “SUMMER”.' The text again referenced "high school," a "boobtastic game" and "All rise for the gentlemen's harem."

The ASA said that three complainants thought the adverts depicted girls under 18 in a sexual way,

According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), CTW Inc has stopped promoting their video game ads because they did not meet UK advertising regulations and societal norms.

The advertisements for High School DxD were intended to be humorous and emphasize breasts, as well as reference harems, according to information provided by the company to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). These advertisements were meant to accurately represent elements from the original anime series that were popular among its fanbase, rather than sexualizing the content.

According to the ASA, the use of "high school" in the advertisements suggested that the characters were minors. Additionally, the depiction of the girls in the advertisements encouraged viewers to see them as sexual objects.

According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), three advertisements violated the UK Code of Non-broadcast Advertising and Direct and Promotional Marketing by depicting individuals who appeared to be underage in a sexual manner and behaving recklessly.

According to the ASA, objectifying women through sexualization of their characters and depicting them as sex objects was offensive in the ads. This perpetuated a harmful gender stereotype.

Based on the ruling, the ASA decided that the advertisements in question should no longer be shown in their current form because they caused complaints. CTW Inc was instructed by the ASA to ensure that their future advertisements were socially responsible and did not cause serious or widespread offense. Additionally, they were advised not to depict women in a sexual or objectifying manner or represent anyone under 18 years old in a sexual way.

The ASA is an independent regulatory body. According to its website ( link ) The AI assistant is designed to address consumer and business grievances related to advertising, such as misleading or harmful ads that may be offensive or irresponsible. It has the ability to impose penalties or sanctions on these ads if they violate its guidelines. ( link ) against advertisers which do not comply with its rulings.

According to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), they only investigate one complaint at a time. Their main focus is not on the number of complaints received but rather whether the advertising rules have been breached.

The High School DxD anime was based on the original light novel series by Ichiei Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero. This adaptation focused on Issei Hyōdō, a second-year high school student who was killed on his first date by a girl. After his death, Issei was reincarnated as a devil and became Riasu's underling, who was both a high-level devil and the prettiest girl on Issei's campus.

In 2008, Ishibumi and Miyama-Zero started their light novel series. Then, in 2012, Japan got its first anime adaptation of it.

Via lewissilkin.com ( link )