While many celebrated the Call of Duty: Black Ops’ live action commercial for its ability to recreate the anonymity that exists in the multiplayer arena, other media outlets were not impressed. Featuring realistic depictions of violence and one of the NBA’s top stars, Kobe Bryant, the trailer was seen as a glorification of the violence that many establishments struggle against.
After the successful launch of Black Ops, Kobe Bryant began to come under attack for having starred in the commercial.
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As a fan of the Call of Duty franchise, Bryant was simply trying to assist secondary developer Treyarch with a little added celebrity boost. Sure, with pre-order numbers at a record high, Bryant’s support wasn’t a necessity but his appearance in the trailer further solidified the commercial's message that the multiplayer experience brings every gamer, celebrity or schoolgirl, together.
News and sports outlets that have come out against Bryant's decision to appear in the commercial are completely misinterpreting the point of the commercial itself. Spending too much time focusing on the clothes the star is wearing, and their connection to the average Joe, rather than the over-the-top silliness implied by his appearance. Rather than trying to understand where the commercial was coming from they chastise it.
Check it out for yourself to see where you stand:
It's scary to think that a trailer featuring a lunchroom chef dual-wielding pistols and Jimmy Kimmel firing an RPG can become anything less than a playful piece of advertising. The topic of teen violence is obviously a touchy subject and one that should not be taken lightly, but the unfortunate situation is, commercial or not, teens are going to be playing Black Ops.
The task is left to the parents to inform their kids, if they decide to let them play the game, that it is merely that. By treating the type of violence depicted in the game as the artificial exaggerated type of combat it is, perhaps the media can understand why a trailer like this isn’t doing any actual harm.
It is worth noting that Kobe Bryant is actually an active contributor to military relief organizations and was on hand at the Black Ops launch to present a check for $1 million to returning soldiers. On top of that Activision CEO, Bobby Kotick, has come out to say that Black Ops is a tribute to the men and women who risk their lives in service of our country.
Kobe has yet to see any repercussions from the NBA in regards to his appearance in the commercial.
What are your thoughts on Kobe Bryant’s appearance in the Black Ops commercial? Should he have had the foresight to recognize the implications involved or was it simply a harmless piece of clever advertising?
Source: ESPN