#EAFail

The totally awesome and not at all insulting to

  • women who resent being viewed as a walking support system for attractive curves and to
  • men who resent being viewed as a random collection of lustful urges

EA advertising campaign is attracting a bit of attention.

 

Just a bit.

Zubon at Kill Ten Rats has a modest proposal.

Since the approach is apparently, “any publicity is good publicity,” I’m just not going to mention any EA games for the rest of the year unless this is somehow made right.

Sorry, Bioware! A commenter at Ars Technica has some experience, being an actual attractive female company representative at conventions. You know.

Have any of you BEEN a “booth babe”? No? Then STFU. Myself, I’ve been a “booth babe” at many comic, scifi and anime cons for the last several yrs. I was also the training manager for ALL employees, running the booths and overseeing the product of two major companies. I also happen to be attractive and enjoy wearing costumes. I have a four-yr degree and my day-job is in the comic industry. But I guess I’m ASKING to be groped because I’m one step up from a hooker, right? Even if I WAS a fucking hooker, that gives no one the right. I can walk around in a thong and pasties and it’s nobody’s license to touch.

The irony: this has happened before. Last year we had legendarily creepy LiveJournal ‘celebrity’ “The Ferrett” announce that you know, it would be a better world if he could just walk up to random strangers at ComicCon and feel their boobs. And being a totally Aspergian geek, he MADE IT OPEN SOURCE.

 

We talked about this. It was an Open-Source Project, making breasts available to select folks. (Like any good project, you need access control, because there are loutish men and women who just Don’t Get It.) And we wanted a signal to let people know that they were okay with being asked politely, so we turned it into a project:

 

The Open-Source Boob Project.

 

Why would anyone take offense at this? WHY GOD WHY? Oh.

 

This sort of thing happens frequently at cons. Don’t believe me? Ask isako or purpletophat. Women who wear skimpy outfits at cons or even slightly flesh bearing outfits at Cons hear this all the time. Or worse, people just go ahead and do it. I’ve slapped many a fanboy hand.

 

The idea that you can touch whatever on display is not body positive. It hearkens back to the common plea: “Well officer she deserved it! She was wearing a mini-skirt! She asked for it.” That idea is frankly repugnant. To be fair, I think however that this is more the writer’s salivation than the project’s.

 

To be fair, I don’t actually believe that the EA marketing droids that came up with this juvenile drivel thought for a moment that they were encouraging the mauling of female convention-goers. Given the history of the marketing for their project, they were really just pulling a Madonna and dancing in front of a burning cross because, hey, fire pretty. Thoughts about consequences? That’s for lame-os!

That doesn’t make their ‘I’m sorry you were offended by our witty marketing, oh, and please buy our game!’ standard corporate straight-from-image-management pseudo-apology any less disgusting.

We apologize for any confusion and offense that resulted from our choice of wording,

And I apologize for any confusion in how I worded my belief that your marketing team was devoid of common sense, views its female employees as sexual objects, and reflects poorly on our entire industry in its juvenile pursuit of attention.

and want to assure you that we take your concerns and sentiments seriously.

How nice for you.

I wish I could be surprised. Unfortunately – not really. Really, the only way this sort of complete and total nimrod idiocy will ever get addressed is if the industry as a whole starts actually, you know, hiring women and promoting them, so that at some point the fratboy “huh huh” atmosphere breaks down and sexual harassment isn’t viewed as a clever in-joke.

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  • Vetarnias

    Have there been previous instances of that from EA? I know they’re supposed to be the nadir of gaming, but even this seems to be a new low for them.

  • Gx1080

    As always, its nice to see that the industry its still ruled for the straight males teens and 20-30 something, who are, of course SO WELCOMING to everything that isnt for them, no wonder that women want to work in this industry SO MUCH!!!.

    http://brokentoys.org/2009/03/20/this-just-in-women-exist-in-the-gaming-industry/

    Really, i would like to NOT have to repeat myself (many guys in the industry are little mysoginist douches).

  • Vetarnias

    @Gx1080
    “Really, i would like to NOT have to repeat myself (many guys in the industry are little mysoginist douches).”

    I wonder if the situation is the same in the game industry outside the US.

  • Gx1080

    Oh, and this people, its why you dont let that over sugared/drunk/stoned idiots do your marketing.

  • http://killtenrats.com Ravious

    This is seriously the best blog of 2009 (possible evar). Bonedead, back me up here.

  • http://www.greypawn.com GreyPawn

    This does answer the eternal question – Where DID the marketing department at GOD Games end up? Oh, hey, “My Little Pony 3D Adventure VIII” is coming out next quarter; I’m thinking… wet t-shirt contest at a shelter for battered women?

  • DrewC

    Oddly marketing is the one area of the industry where, in my personal experience, I’ve seen women outnumber men. Of course that’s pretty anecdotal.

    It seems obvious what they were going for. Every con I go to I see yahoos getting their picture taken with the paid costumed staff at the booths. Clearly EA was trying to turn that into a game. On a high level that’s not a bad idea, but the way they pitched the campaign clearly touched a few nerves.

    I wonder if they would have touched off the same firestorm if they had left out the phrase “commit an act of lust” and just said “have your picture taken with any EA staff or Costumed staff from other companies at ComicCon.”

  • Jeremy Preacher

    I’ve seen women outnumber men in PR, and in marketing support roles, but not as actual marketing product managers. I don’t have a huge sample size, though.

  • Gx1080

    @Vetarnias

    Lets see. Theres is the Dead or Alive series who its developed by Tecmo, a japanese company, and theres Funcom, who its Norwegian. AoC anyone?

    So yes, the industry its the same everywere. Found a little video about the subject:

    http://www.binarymoon.co.uk/2008/05/a-brief-history-of-sex-in-video-games/

    (I would put the YouTube link, but you need to sign for it)

  • http://bdadv.blogspot.com Bonedead

    Haha Ravious is right because, hey, fire pretty.

  • http://blog.weflyspitfires.com We Fly Spitfires

    Gotta give ‘em kudos for trying it though :) Marketing always goes one step too far, I guess I’m used to it now :)

  • Jeremy Preacher

    …Kudos for trying? Really? Do you also applaud drunk drivers who miss their offramps and plunge into the river?

  • http://dsob.wordpress.com geldonyetich

    “Sensible marketer,” has always been an oxymoron of sorts. Like “honest lawyer,” you may find the rare example to back it up, but it remains a rarity as the described behavior oft clashes with the job description.

    A good lawyer can allow the guilty to go free, just as a good marketer pushes people well into nonsensical behavior (ideally: spending money on crap they don’t need).

    So, pushing people who hardly need incentive into lusty behavior at fan-cons? Problematic… but it’s the kind of thing marketers do which has earned my contempt for the whole profession.

  • Ed

    I’m with Kill Ten rats. Who the hell thought “Let’s make a contest of sexually harassing women” was a good idea? Whee… Appealing to bad stereotypes is fun. The really sad thing is that the stereotypes are were probably accurate.

  • http://bdadv.blogspot.com Bonedead

    Yeah because potentially killing people while operating a 2 ton hunk of metal while inebriated relates to the story at hand fuckin completely.

  • dartwick

    I think is time the new media follows Zubons suggestion more or less. No one should ever mention the name nor review the game this is meant to promote.

  • http://haven.thratchen.com Kevin

    Christ I hate the ‘I’m sorry you were offended’ style of ‘apology’. Putting the words ‘I’m sorry’ in your sentence doesn’t make it an apology. Mealy-mouthed evasive bullshit.

  • Trevel

    “Gotta give ‘em kudos for trying it though”

    No. No we don’t. We so don’t.

    If anything, we gotta give ‘em boycotts for trying it.

    Now someone help me find justification to still like Bioware despite them being connected to EA?

  • http://percentsign20.com/ Caladein

    @ Trevel

    You’ve seen the videos for DAO right? There is no justification to still like BioWare despite them being connected to EA.

    Just going to have to live with it.

  • Aufero

    I just don’t get how anyone could possibly have thought an ad campaign based on encouraging people to commit sexual assault was a good idea in the first place. Drunken hamsters have more common sense than that.

    Hell, it only took a few weeks to teach my dog that humping people’s legs is a bad idea, and my dog is pretty stupid.

    Apparently EA marketing is dumber than my dog.

  • Trevel

    @ Caladein

    I’m trying to hold out hope that it’s only EA Marketing that’s evil. There’s a tenuous fiber of hope that Bioware made another Bioware-style game and Marketing decided that what would sell it is groping breasts at comicon — I mean, gratuitous violence and inappropriate rock music.

    I’m looking forward to the lawsuits from the other companies booth babes.

  • http://mmomisanthrope.wordpress.com/ Dblade

    What I can’t understand is how on earth this got vetted and passed by senior management. You’d think that a higher up at EA would have actually read the proposal and realized what it means before signing it just for legal liability reasons.

    I wouldn’t spin this though into a blanket case of misogyny on EA’s part, or in games in general. This is noteworthy because it is a huge blunder from a company you wouldn’t expect at all doing so. It would be like Apple doing this. It is a warning about not giving your PR teams enough oversight

    dartwick:

    no offense, but the new media is a joke in terms of that. I have yet to see any new media give sustained positive coverage to any of the bratz, imagine, or dynasty warrior games, and they keep selling in spite of it. Games like the conduit in the other hand are hyped up relentlessly and get tremendous new media buzz, and then go to tank or gain modest returns.

    In this specific game, chances are the strength of the property will be what drives sales, and what will tank it is if no one likes the movie.

  • sinij

    If you wear ski mask and carry and enter the bank, fully expect to get shot in the face. Dress like a clown, fully expect to get pies tossed at you. If you wear erotic outfit into geek convention, fully expect to get grouped.

    This part of human culture and it is not likely to change because some feminazi wants to grab attention and not deal with consequences of said attention.

  • JuJutsu

    @sinij

    That’s a crock of cr@p. I’m embarrased for you.

  • Trevel

    @sinij — The dark ages are calling. They want their misogyny back.

    That may be what is fully expected. It shouldn’t be. We don’t want it to be.

  • http://joshuameadows.com Joshua Meadows

    This thing is really absurd, especially given the fact that I’ve spent the past month going around the GLAAD thing reminding those involved that such harassing mentalities are not the domain of gay people. Thanks EA for serendipitously proving my point for me so I didn’t have to come up with clever analogies.

    I find this sickening, and their “apology” was pathetic. It’s also ridiculous how many people are charging forward with the “this is their own fault” banner.

  • Hearding

    @sinij

    No

  • Gx1080

    @shinj

    What the hell are you smoking?

  • http://www,damnedvulpine.com/ J.

    @sinij
    lol troll gtfo

  • Freakazoid

    I’m going to join sinij in the “trolling” and post this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OBPaenkxdg

  • http://dsob.wordpress.com geldonyetich

    “Common Sense” is largely a myth: people tend to draw their own conclusions about the stimuli they encounter. Just as grief players figure that the other player’s are there to torment and amuse them, Sinij’s theory that people wear clothes that reflect how they want to be treated is a valid, if thoroughly incorrect, assumption.

  • http://www.greypawn.com GreyPawn

    EA picked a GayGamer news reporter’s submission as a winner. He wrote them a letter, turning them down, refusing the $240, and rejecting the use of his picture. Hell yes. http://gaygamer.net/2009/07/update_runnerup_for_lust_conte.html

  • Jeremy Preacher

    Oh good show, brother.

  • http://dsob.wordpress.com geldonyetich

    Very good show, indeed.

  • Gx1080

    I think that theres should be better words to express it, bu then I remembered that EA doesnt really deserve them.

    EA just got pwned.

  • Gx1080

    Oh I almost forgot, despite the offense that EA pulled, fire pretty.

  • http://mrtact.com/blog Tim Keating

    @Jeremy Preacher: “I don’t have a huge sample size, though.”

    Really? You’re going to throw out a softball like that, in THIS of all threads?

  • Vetarnias

    @GreyPawn

    Well done, but pity that the guy was just a runner-up. I wonder who actually won the grand prize, probably a brain-dead prick with no moral qualms who deserves to be taunted mercilessly.

  • http://www.acidforblood.net/ Brinstar

    Somehow I doubt that this got vetted through the proper channels at EA. I would imagine that EA, being a huge company, would have lawyers reviewing any contest rules before they go out. This seems like something that someone would stop before it went public. This was a pretty good article on the legal side of it, not to mention the fact that if you look at SDCC’s history, sexual harassment is common. If anyone at EA 1) was aware of the legal side of sexual harassment and 2) was aware that sexual harassment at Comic-Con is a continuing problem that people have spoken out about, then I doubt that a reasonable person would allow this contest to run. That’s me looking on the bright side, and hoping there are reasonable people at EA.

  • Female Gamer

    What I’ve been wondering is whether EA’s promises of “a night with one of the hottest girls in town” may fall afoul of various anti-pandering laws?

    Oh, and sinj-the-troll: Some day, I hope to see you wearing tight shorts, because obviously, if you wear clothes that make the target obvious, you should expect to get a knee to the nuts. I’m sure you won’t complain, since that’s the natural order of things, right?

  • http://dsob.wordpress.com geldonyetich

    All this righteous indignation over the feelings of women and LGBT make me wonder if there’s nothing better to think of in these trying times than finding new and exciting ways to feel sorry for ourselves.

  • http://mmomisanthrope.wordpress.com/ Dblade

    Sinij:

    You aren’t right at all, how you dress isn’t consequential to how you are treated. In the strip bar, you aren’t allowed to grope them either, and if that doesn’t invalidate it I don’t know what does.

    Of course you have to be prudent. A stripper never goes outside of the club in pasties and a g-string, and I will never wear tight pants around female gamer as long as I live, but you don’t deserve what happens even so, because other people should be moral. It is human nature that some aren’t. That doesn’t mean what happens is deserved, and it really isn’t anything to do with EA inciting boorish behavior, which is a headslapping display of bad judgement

  • Vetarnias

    @Female Gamer

    I’ve been thinking exactly the same thing. Were San Diego police asked to investigate the matter?

    @Gx1080
    Ah yes, I was forgetting Age of Conan, perhaps the most misogynistic MMO in recent memory. If only Funcom had steered clear of that, it could have been a great game (well, that and actually finishing it by release).

  • dartwick

    @ geldonyetich

    well as you demonstrate attention whoring never goes out of style as an alternative

  • Einherjer

    I wonder if this display of public outrage will show itself in EA’s balance sheet. That’s the only thing that matters. All the rest is just landscape.

    Corporations aren’t good or evil. They want profits and they’ll do anything for profits. Including playing nice and being socially and environmentally responsible.

    Consumers have the power. To bad that when they are about to spend their money they all go “ooohhh, pretty colors”

  • Steve

    “Ah yes, I was forgetting Age of Conan, perhaps the most misogynistic MMO in recent memory.”

    To be fair, if you want to remain faithful to the source material, any Conan game should be misogynistic.

  • Gx1080

    Hes right on that and I was thinking more in the Dead or Alive saga.

  • Raethys

    So this has made the rounds and gotten multiple posts just about everywhere.

    Attention Gathering Attempt Check: Critical Success. Double Sixes.

    So while you’re at it, you can fight the model industry for encouraging girls to be too thin (because no girl really wants to be thin, ever, and they don’t take reinforce the stereotype my keeping “fat” right up there as one of the most damning adjectives to describe other members of their sex). And you can fight damn near EVERY marketing campaign ever put out by companies on national TV, and you can fight HBO, and Hollywood, and Victoria Secret.

    Have fun with that.

    People can make up their own damn mind whether they want the job or not. They can read, and they sure as hell know what they’re getting in for.

    No, it’s not to be groped, but I’m sure they don’t naively go in thinking that’s not going to happen. Models are models, and if putting themselves out there in skimpy outfits to show off their ta-tas in ridiculous costumes isn’t the whole-hearted endorsement of objectification, I don’t know what is. They *signed up* for this, here and elsewhere; they’ve *chosen* to make a career out of it.

    They could just as easily get some other job where they can put on normal work clothes like everyone else and not have to worry about “fratboy-minded geeks” feeling them up.

    If they get molested, then, yes, that’s wrong and the perpetrators should be handled accordingly. I don’t think anyone is disputing that.

    Was it a badly worded ad-campaign? Sure.

    Could it have used fine print saying: “This contest in no way endorses anything other than taking your photo with the “booth babe”; molesting the “babes” will result in immediate disqualification and removal from premises by security.” Sure.

    That was the intention, and taking your picture with a girl who is there to have her picture taken over and over again is business as usual.

    Will some rude jackass take the opportunity to grope? Absolutely. Is that a reflection on EA because it happens? No. It’s a reflection that individual. And they should be summarily handed, just as they would be if they inevitably engaged in that anywhere else.

    But let’s not pretend that this is a sign of a bigger issue. If you’re going after objectification, going after EA is a little too discriminating. Why not just ban booth babes altogether? Problem solved.

    Those poor girls will not have to endure any more grubbing. Course, they’ll be out of work too, but hey, we’re here to promote a lofty moral standard that ignores a timeless, plain and simple truth about humanity that’s not going to change as long as we care about a woman looking like a woman.

    See you at church, boys and girls!

  • JuJutsu

    @Raethys

    “Is that a reflection on EA because it happens? No. It’s a reflection that individual.”

    Baloney. Did you actually see the advert? “Sin to Win”…”Commit Acts of Lust”
    That reflects on the company that set up the campaign. If you don’t see that, it reflects upon you as well.

    “See you at church, boys and girls!”

    I’ll pass. I don’t think I’d care for the church you attend.

  • dartwick

    I was looking around the internet pretty much every case where I can find the phrase “act of lust” it refers to intercourse.
    Shakespeare use “loathsome act of lust” to refer to rape.

    I dont really think it would be sexual harassment in a court if you were arrested for feeling up a booth babe(who was emploeyed by EA).
    EA pays her to be there and encourages people to do it. Although potentially you could run afoul of what ever sex laws they have in CA.

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