Sony in trouble with SA advertising authority

The South African Sony PlayStation e-store came under fire from an irate consumer who took umbrage with an advert for PlayStation Plus which included the promotion of a free downloadable copy of Need For Speed Shift 2.

Mr. Mohamed Dindar lodged a consumer complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASASA) against a Ster-Kinekor Theatres internet advertisement which contained, inter alia, information on how PlayStation Plus members can download certain games. One game offered for free download is listed as “SHIFT 2 Unleashed”.

Ster-Kinekor is the official distributor of Sony Computer Entertainment products in South Africa.

The complainant submitted, in essence, that the advertisement is misleading as he noticed that the game was not marked free and was not available for download despite him becoming a member of PlayStation Plus.

The respondent addressed the merits of the matter but also submitted that the Shift 2 Unleashed game was still listed as a free download even after the said offer had expired. This was a result of an error, which has since been corrected. It has also implemented measures to ensure that this does not happen again.

In addition, the respondent offered to provide the complainant with a full copy of the game from April’s offer as well as a complimentary three month extension of his membership as a gesture of good faith.

ASA directorate ruling

The ASA has a long standing principle which holds that where an advertiser provides an unequivocal undertaking to withdraw or amend its advertising in a manner that addresses the concerns raised, that undertaking is accepted without considering the merits of the matter.

The respondent’s undertaking appears to address the complainants’ concerns and there is therefore no need for the Directorate to consider the merits of the matter at this time. The undertaking is accepted on condition that the advertisement in question is not used again in future in its current format.