One of the ads used as part of a campaign to promote Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s launch has been banned in the UK. This means that it can no longer be shown in the region, whether that’s online or on television.
The ad in question shows replacement airport security workers harassing a man. After being selected for additional searching, the man is told to strip nude, while another worker puts on a glove and says it’s “time for the puppet show” and that she was “going in dry”. It was argued that the ad was making light of sexual assault and was therefore too “inappropriate and offensive” to be shown.
Activision Blizzard Comes Under Fire For This Black Ops 7 Ad
To put it in context, this ad is part of a series called The Replacers. The running gag is that everyone is taking time off work to play Black Ops 7, so The Replacers step in instead. Whoever put these ads together wanted to show them being comically bad at their jobs, and for airport security, that translated to sexual assault.
As reported by the BBC, nine complaints were made by viewers to the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority. Activision Blizzard did try to defend the ad, arguing that it had been approved before it was used, and that the punchline wasn’t a sex act, but rather, the “discomfort” of the man.
The ASA was not convinced, concluding that the humour stemmed from “the humiliation and implied threat of painful, non-consensual penetration of the man”. Therefore, the ad can no longer be used in the UK.
“Because the ad alluded to non-consensual penetration, and framed it as an entertaining scenario, we considered that the ad trivialised sexual violence and was therefore irresponsible and offensive,” the ASA concludes. “The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Activision Blizzard UK to ensure that their ads were socially responsible and did not cause serious offence, for example, by trivialising sexual violence.”
You can check out the ASA’s findings on its website. Curiously, it also investigated two claims that the ad “encouraged or condoned drug use”, based on the depiction of prescription drugs. This complaint was not upheld.
- Released
-
November 14, 2025
- ESRB
-
Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
