A Dead Island: Riptide trailer has been pulled from Australian pay TV following a complaint about its depiction of suicide.

The ad in question ran before an Ultimate Fighting Championship event, and showed a couple choosing to immolate themselves rather than face death at the hands of a zombie horde. However, it was the game’s logo – which incorporates the silhouette of a body hanging from a tree – that was singled out by the complainant.

“I think that the ad is too graphic in terms of its depiction of suicide, particularly the final image of the man hanging from a tree,” read the complaint to the Australian Advertising Standards Bureau (AASB).

“I think that this could be very traumatic for people who have experienced the suicide of a family member by hanging (or any other means).”

Dead Island: Riptide distributor All Interactive Entertainment acknowledged that the ad was violent, but argued that context was important.

“The cinematic implication of violence in the advertisement is intended to convey the desolate terror afflicting the game characters,” an AIE representative told the AASB.

“I believe is contextually relevant to the product being advertised, as it conveys the hopelessness of the games’ characters as they are faced with the overwhelming horror and violence of vast numbers of zombies hunting them, without actually depicting the violence of zombie vs character interaction in the game.”

Suicide was the lesser of two evils, they continued.

“The implied death of the two central characters is violent, notwithstanding that it is less violent than the potential alternative.”

As for the logo, the AIE spokesperson argued that while the silhouette could be upsetting for someone who had lost a loved one to suicide, it did not represent violence out of context, or otherwise offend prevailing community standards.

“The scene does not imply that suicide is a viable option in a real world situation. I believe it is substantially dissociative and is unlikely to draw any parallels in the mind of anyone who has had the deep misfortune to have been affected by the suicide of a family member or friend,” they said.

“The second scene which is primarily the logo of the game does not imply or portray suicide in any fashion. The silhouette of the zombie hanging from the tree is presented without any explanation or back-story, and no connection to the preceding scene is offered; certainly it could not be extrapolated that the implied suicide by explosion of the couple might lead to either of them being hung by the neck from a tree.”

However, the Advertising Standards Board upheld the complaint, noting that the ad breached two sections of the Advertising Standards Code.

The sections in question:

2.3 Advertising or Marketing Communications shall not present or portray violence unless it is justifiable in the context of the product or service advertised.

2.6 Advertising or Marketing Communications shall not depict material contrary to Prevailing Community Standards on health and safety.

“The Board noted the fantasy content and the stylised nature of the advertisement and considered that the issue of suicide is a depiction of violence which is not justifiable even in the context of an
advertisement for a computer game aimed at adults,” said the AASB.

“The Board noted that the issue of suicide is a very significant community concern and considered that the use of images which are strongly suggestive of suicide is not appropriate in the context of a television advertisement for a computer game.

“The Board considered that by presenting images which suggest suicide the advertisement does depict material which is contrary to Prevailing Community Standards on health and safety.”

AIE replaced the ad with a different trailer, but expressed its disappointment with the ruling.

“Whilst real life suicide is of course a matter of grave concern in our communities we feel this ought not to bar the subject from portrayal in a fantasy setting,” it said.