With the increase of video game consumers and gamers ever on the rise and the console war between the upcoming Xbox One and Playstation 4 rising to its peak, it’s really no surprise we’ve also been seeing an increase of game or gaming related advertisements on the television between our favorite prime-time shows, online even outside of gaming or electronics websites, and really any other publishing medium for that matter. These commercials predictably highlight moments of graphic excellence, positive reviews, and those characteristics that make the game (or console) stand apart from all the rest (or at least what the developers think does). But a recent trend in game advertising is the emphasis on the idea that games allow ordinary people to become heroes and that everyone has a little hero in them . . . unless, apparently, you’re a woman.
As much as I’ve tried to ignore it or “not let it bother me,” I can’t help but notice that most of the time female players are either not present or mentioned in these types of commercials, present but just included in the background or not highlighted in the same way their male counterparts do (10 points if the one woman is the only one in the entire commercial), or her sexuality is one of the highlights of the commercial or their personal main feature. Hardly ever are women and girls portrayed as regular or “normal” players or given an equal focus as the men of boys do, except in, perhaps, commercials for games coded expressly for young girls or children. This comes not only as an insult to female gamers but goes against any semblance of logical advertisement strategy as women have been found to make up almost half of the total gaming population, more women play games than the often targeted boys ages 17 or younger demographic, and that women, particularly mothers, are purchasing more and more video games.
This in mind I’d like to draw your attention to a few examples of the kind of commercials I’m talking about.
1. Call of Duty: Ghosts “Epic Night Out”
This is perhaps the most recent example that spawned a brief discussion amongst us here at NYGM and was the inspiration for this post. Though they have managed to include a women in the advertisement who does participate somewhat in combat . . . it’s Megan Fox, being hit on and appearing very much so under the male gaze as per her usual role. Her face is perpetually stuck in a sensual pout even when in combat and supposedly rebuking the men and her voice matches her physical sexuality. Given the theme of the commercial and the location, it becomes all too obvious that she’s more than likely included to perpetuate the male/”bro” fantasy rather than to create a sense of inclusion for female gamers. Thanks Call of Duty marketing team for at least including one woman and not zooming in on her butt or breasts, but if you wanted to depict a real encounter between male and female gamers, you should’ve included some more sexual harassment and trolling.
2. Xbox One “Invitation”
Shifting to consoles now, this one, like the Call of Duty: Ghosts commercial, also includes a single woman amidst a cast of men. She’s not being sexualized but she’s also not gaming. Unlike all but one of the men in this commercial, she’s using her Xbox One to watch movies. Granted that the fact that she’s using it to watch movies doesn’t mean she doesn’t game at all but Xbox continues to perpetuate the “one woman per commercial syndrome” while essentially using her to point out that the system does more than just game. Whether consciously or not, we’re not seeing her as a gamer, and the commercial separates female consumers, considering she’s the only woman in the commercial and therefore the de-facto representative, from gaming.
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 3 “The Vet & The Noob,” Killzone: Shadow Fall “Oaths and Promises,” and Playstation 4 “Perfect Day”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySLH07P5sL0
What all three of these commercials have in common is a complete absence of women or at least women who aren’t dead or being victimized. I think the lack speaks plenty for itself.
This isn’t to say that all of them are like this but the sheer amount that do is certainly something to draw awareness to, particularly considering that almost all of these commercials are currently actively airing on TV. By portraying women in commercials like these, we are once again told that we are either a minority or absent from the gaming community, that we don’t belong or are an oddity in the community, or, perhaps worst of all, not important enough to even be considered in the advertising or game design process. This is unfortunately nothing new for women gamers and perhaps not as troubling as the representation of women in the games themselves, but it is important to be critical of commercials like these as it only continues to perpetuate that this is “okay” or normal.
And finally, to prove that game advertising (especially the Call of Duty series) knows and can do better, this commercial is one I enjoyed and wasn’t bad in its depiction of women gamers (though optimistically the ratio could have been a bit better):
