Square Enix Invents Horribly Insulting Facebook Promotion for Hitman: Absolution, Subsequently Apologizes

It is amazing to me that there were probably multiple people who make six-figure incomes that worked a lot of late nights and weekends to put together this campaign and not once did anyone stop and say, "do we really think this is a good idea?"

So it looks like Square's marketing is really missing the target.

This is hilarious and highlights the stupidity that is facebook/1984; good for Square, hopefully they make another good game one of these days.

I don't think this got taken down because people were easily offended.

It was a stupid idea. A stupid idea that somehow survived and actually made it to a second phase of stupidity that is kinda amazing when you think about this as a PR idea. I mean, this is supposed to warm people up to a series they may not know anything about? I mean, that's the pitch, right? You want to bring new people into the fold. Like this?

All I want to know is, if this was the best idea they could come up with...then what the fuck were the bad ones? Could there be a few other ideas that were so much worse that this one, in context, seemed good?

Wow, what the hell is with the marketing team for this game? They should all be fired immediately; what the fuck were they thinking?

Wait wait wait. Hold the phone here.

A facebook app where you could put fake "hits" out on your friends, with a laundry list of crass reasons can only be viewed by the person who sent the hit/received the hit?

Exactly how is any of this a problem? Don't friends make fun of each other in the exact same way that a lot of these juvenile reasons are depicted?

i thought i read something about you only being able to send this to verified friends, and that only that person would see this message.

i'm not entirely sure though, but if this is true, then it would eliminate it's use as a bullying tool.

if i got those, i'd either laugh, or use it as a tool to clean my friends list.

And I thought Edios screwed up IO's marketing in the past...

And yet it's always EA that takes the most flak in any "bad game marketing" conversation. At least their bad marketing only fell on crap games like Dante's Inferno, this is harming an actual GOOD game.

Something too evil and hate-filled even for the internet? Square Enix, i am impressed in a disgusted, head shaking kind of way.

This reminds me of something Creed would do from the "Office(USA)"

fuckin lol ohhhhh lord

People are hypersensitive. The app is a joke. If we can't poke fun at someone for pretending that he has a little dick, and issuing a pretend death threat, all in the sense of good humor, then we can't have any fun at all.

I have a little dick, shoot me! Oh look, I'm poking fun at myself. Now I've offended myself and I apologize to myself for it. Geez.

You know what's more insulting than this promotion? The game itself.

Thank you thank you I'll be here never.

@Wakka: You don't understand why people are offended.

@Laivasse: I pretty much agree with you. The part about principled or responsible gamers/consumers is particularly depressing and would be funny if it wasn't such a problem. Even after all the leaks when the game shipped early, people went on and on about it looking like shit but that they would still buy it anyway because they might enjoy some of it. It's that kind of stuff that leads to more bad advertising or bad products. Marketers and producers respond almost exclusively to the bottom line. How much money they pull in. If people don't have the self control to vote with their dollar, they just re-enforce bad practice. It's not always easy, but it's the best way to make change. If you don't approve of something withdraw your dollar completely.

I find the fact that this was given the green light highly mirthful

Holeeee crap.

This is a whole new level of dumb.

Everyone involved this promotion should be fired immediately.

Given how rad this game is, it's a real shame that the marketing team have apparently been huffing paint. I'm reminded of the brilliant minds who decided to market Splinter Cell: Conviction by having actors dressed in ski masks "pretend" to hold up a store, with the idea being a guy dressed as Sam Fisher would have then disabled them in a fake fight and then told everyone around that it was really marketing for the game. In reality, that played out as someone calling the cops the instant the fake robbery began, and the cops showed up before the Sam Fisher actor could make his move.

@Mr_Scumbag: I have a lack of sympathy for the offended, not a lack of understanding of why they are. Thanks.

@Wakka: You say you know why people are offended, but your post implies that you think people are offended because they can't take a joke or are taking the "joke app" too seriously. That isn't why a good number of us are offended at all. Why is it that you think we are offended? Why are we hypersensitive? Because we are offended by something that you aren't? That seems like a very narrow-minded way of looking at the world, not to mention kind of arrogant. It implies that you think that your threshhold of offense is the correct one and anyone on either side of your demarcation is wrong. Maybe rather than all of us being babies who are easily offended, it could be you who is not fully considering the aspects of these issues and dismissing them out of hand because they are either too inconvenient or too difficult for you to honestly address. Either way when there are this many people getting this up in arms about so many things as often as they are lately and you handwave them away you end up looking both ignorant and arrogant. Society and culture change over time and this issues being brought up so much is a sign of that change. If you want to dig your heels in and stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that change it's your business but like it has been said so many times before, if you don't think there's reason to be offended, move on to the next story rather than announcing how thick your skin is to the the rest of us. It adds nothing to the discussion and no-one is impressed by how unfazed you are by real cultural issues. It's not a badge of honour, it's raising the flag of ignorance.

Looking forward to that new Carmageddon game, hopefully they can make it just as balls out insane as the originals.

@Mr_Scumbag: Can you connect anything that you just said to this at all? Society changing has nothing to do with friends jokingly insulting each other. It's neither more or less offensive than it's ever been. There's a difference between something not being funny and what you're claiming here - so, taking into account that we agree it's not funny, what is the problem? Simply that it's not funny or anything more than that? If you're simply bleating out "I am offended", please refer to the words of Stephen Fry:

That was a bad idea and plain stupid, but I don't see it as horribly insulting.

Its funny that lots of people agree that this is offensive, as its highly probable no one was actually offended by it. Who gives a shit. Im sure the simulated violence of the product it is promoting would have more impact on our frail wee society than a facebook death threat for having a small weener. Unless of course, you're weener is really small.

if the ad agency behind this gets work ever again, i will be SHOCKED.

I agree that being "offended" isn't something that should hold water. That there should be more to any situation than just being "offended".

But, when you're talking about a goddamn ad campaign that's supposed to win people over. Do you really think that's the smart approach? Yeah, I can see the defense of "over sensitivity", but there's no denying this was a dumb motherfucking move in something that's supposed attract people to a product. Not piss in their eye and tell them they should like it. Them apologizing was the smartest thing in this entire thing. It's a lot smarter than going the other route, and calling everyone a bunch of pussies for having delicate sensibilities.

This whole "easily offended" defense sounds more appropriate in defense of something like the Family Guy game, and not some half-brain idea that was somehow supposed to attract potential new Hitman players.

I imagine heads have already rolled for this gaffe

I can't stop laughing at the idea of killing someone for having a tiny penis ha ha ha

aah, theyve lost all sense with this game.

Yeah that is bad taste, but the 12 year old inside me finds it highly hilarious. Wish i would have came accross this last week. I haven't touched fb since the summer. What a great reason to start using it again. To bad people are babies.

Lol it really hasn't been a good year for Hitman jesus

In Canada death treats (even on Facebook) can get you 18 months in prison (they usually don’t though).

They should have kept it up for the people who wouldn't take it too seriously.