The Australian Advertising Standards Board was recently published receive a complaint by a Melbourne resident about the Diablo IV banner at the entrance to the city, which the applicant claimed was offensive.
Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment
The billboard in question (pictured below) features the mother of affliction, Lilith, with the words “Welcome to Hell, Melbourne” and the release date of Diablo IV, June 6, 2023.
The banner appeared to an unnamed 43-year-old Christian “offensive”containing “Propaganda of Evil and Satanic Paraphernalia”as well as recalls “Two years of lockdown hell in Melbourne” due to COVID-19.
“Also, the picture is not suitable for my children and has already given them nightmares. The image frightens children as the demonic figure is looking directly at the camera, giving the impression that it is spying on the viewer.The resident complained.
Image Source: Reddit (attachmentissues0203)
Australian Advertising Self-Regulatory Complaint Foreseeable rejectedequating Lilith with the imagery of other villain characters such as Maleficent, and pointing out the presence of a football club in Melbourne called “Demons”.
The regulator also alerted the applicant that the words “Hell” and “Melbourne” on the billboard are separated by a comma: the banner doesn’t compare the city to Hell, it just encourages residents to play the game .
Diablo IV is available on PC (Battle.net), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S. Blizzard has obviously not skimped on advertising: collaborations with Artistmusicians, brands, real church decoration in the style of the game and so on.
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