A Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 commercial starring comedian Nikki Glazer has been banned in the UK, following viewer complaints that it trivialized sexual violence.
The country’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld criticism of the ad, which features a man being ordered to take off his clothes during an airport security screening. It’s then implied that Glazer wishes to perform an unnecessary search of his anal cavity.
As reported by BBC News, Activision defended the ad as an implausible situation (the joke here being that Glazer and Call of Duty actor Peter Stormare are replacement security agents, as the airport’s usual employees are too busy playing Call of Duty instead).
Activision said the ad’s humor was meant to imply discomfort rather than sexual activity, that the footage contained no explicit content, and that it had been aired on linear TV at timeslots aimed at adults.
Regardless, the ASA has ruled that the commercial’s humor was “generated by the humiliation and implied threat of painful, non-consensual penetration of the man,” and was therefore irresponsible and offensive.
“You’ve been randomly selected to be manhandled,” Stormare tells the man within the ad, getting him to bite down on a baton. “I’m going to need you to remove your clothes. Everything but the shoes.”
“Time for the puppet show,” says Glazer as she snaps a rubber glove.
“Bite down on this,” Stormare concludes. “She’s going in dry.”
Ultimately, the ASA decided that the ad can no longer be aired within the UK in its current form — although it’s unclear if Activision still had any plans to do so. Internationally, the commercial is still available online. And, at the time of writing, IGN can confirm it is still available to view from within the UK via YouTube.
Still, the advert is likely the least of Activision’s concerns around Black Ops 7, which has underperformed sales-wise amid strong competition from fellow shooters such as Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders, as reflected in European sales figures and Activision’s own admissions. Following the release of Black Ops 7, Activision announced significant changes to the Call of Duty franchise, including promising never to release back to back games in the same sub-brand (Modern Warfare, Black Ops) again.
Image credit: Activision
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
