The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority has banned a promotional video for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 after determining it ‘trivialized sexual violence’—a decision that underscores growing scrutiny over how gaming brands frame controversial themes in marketing.
The ad, part of Activision’s recurring ‘Replacer’ series, featured actors Peter Stormare and Nikki Glaser in a satirical airport security skit. Stormare, playing a security officer, orders a passenger to strip down—‘everything but the shoes’—while Glaser, in a rubber glove, jokes about a ‘puppet show,’ culminating in a darkly comedic reference to non-consensual penetration. The video, released in November 2025, drew immediate criticism online, with nine formal complaints lodged over its portrayal of sexual violence and two additional complaints for allegedly promoting drug use.
Activision defended the ad as a ‘deliberately implausible, parodic scenario’ for an 18-rated game, noting it had undergone pre-approval by Clearcast, a UK ad review agency. Clearcast had initially deemed the content unlikely to cause ‘serious or widespread offence,’ despite acknowledging its potential to offend some viewers. However, the ASA’s ruling overrode that assessment, arguing that the ad’s humor relied on ‘humiliation and implied threat of painful, non-consensual penetration,’ which it deemed irresponsible.
The ruling is not a ban on the game itself—the ad simply cannot be reused in its current form. The ASA’s decision reflects broader tensions between creative freedom in gaming marketing and societal expectations around sensitive topics. While the ad’s shock value may have been intentional, the authority’s intervention signals that even satirical content must avoid normalizing harmful behaviors.
This is the latest in a series of controversies surrounding gaming ads, where edgy humor often walks a fine line between engagement and offense. For Activision, the fallout serves as a reminder that regulatory bodies are increasingly willing to intervene when marketing crosses ethical boundaries—even in industries traditionally granted broad creative latitude.
