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    Call of Duty: Black Ops

    Game » consists of 19 releases. Released Nov 09, 2010

    The seventh installment of the long-running action franchise, Call of Duty: Black Ops puts players into the early era of the Cold War (including the Vietnam War) as a member of the United States black operations unit known as the SOG.

    Does Kobe cross the line in the Black Ops ad?

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    JJWeatherman

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    #1  Edited By JJWeatherman

    To set this up: I was browsing the ESPN app on my 360 and after passing by all of the "Greg Oden's out for the season" videos, I came across a video of a few ESPN personalities discussing whether or not Kobe's decision to do that Black Ops commercial was a good or bad decision and how it affects the league. Well, actually they pretty much all decided that it was a bad decision and it was bad for the league. I don't agree; I think it was fine. Here's the video: 
      

       
     
    To me, Kobe participating in this ad does nothing but sell games. It's not offensive to me, and I actually think it's a pretty great commercial. I'm glad the woman starts to come around a bit towards the end, while trying to explain that it's just a video game. This whole thing just comes across as a "FOX News" type story. Skip's biggest problem seems to be that he is connecting video games with real war, which seems to happen a lot in the media, mostly with people that don't actually play video games. He says at one point:

    "Does Kobe Bryant really need this money, this badly? Doesn't he have a couple of daughters last time I checked?"

    I just thought "What?!" 
     
    No he obviously doesn't need money. He probably did this commercial because he likes the game and wanted to support it, or Nike wanted some publicity since he's wearing the Nike shirt in the ad. Maybe it's a bit of both. Also, what was Skip's point with the daughters? Is he saying that Kobe's a bad role model for his daughters for being in a commercial for a video game? I just don't know. Come on, Skip.
     
    I don't think that this will hurt the league or, really, anyone other than people like Skip that can't seem to realize that not everything has to be taken extremely seriously.
     
    What do you guys think about this? Was Kobe's decision to participate in this commercial bad for the NBA, or even bad for the public in general? I think that most people here would probably see it the same way I do, but maybe I'm wrong.
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    NTM

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    #2  Edited By NTM

    What? There was nothing wrong with him being in the commercial. Personally I thought it was funny and kind of neat. I'm surprised this was actually talked about. That guy was effing ridiculous and ignorant!
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    9cupsoftea

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    #3  Edited By 9cupsoftea

    I think the problem is that advert. It works as a kinda cool advert for people who know Call of Duty, but to people who don't have a clue about video games, watching celebrities run around some place firing real weapons would seem a bit too much. It would seem like an advert for the national firearms association.

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    Ramone

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    #4  Edited By Ramone

    This thread already exists somewhere. But, on topic, I'm not American and I have limited knowledge of Kobe Bryant but I didn't think there was any line to pass, unless you mean the line into coolness.

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    face15

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    #5  Edited By face15

    That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. America's media is even more fucked than I thought.

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    face15

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    #6  Edited By face15
    @9cupsoftea: Call of Duty is a household name. People tend to forget it, but literally everyone in western society knows what COD is.
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    mordukai

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    #7  Edited By mordukai

    I think ESPN are blowing this issue WAAAAAAAYYY out  of proportion. I hate that ad because it put me off of one of my favorite songs. Now every time  hear Gimme Shelter I'll think CoD. I am gonna go and cry in a corner now. 

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    9cupsoftea

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    #8  Edited By 9cupsoftea
    @face15 said:
    " @9cupsoftea: Call of Duty is a household name. People tend to forget it, but literally everyone in western society knows what COD is. "
    I think you're overestimating it a bit there. It's only anecdotal, but I can think of twice as many people who don't know it than people who do. Would be interesting to see some poll done about that though.
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    Chris2KLee

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    #9  Edited By Chris2KLee

    Gonna file this under my "Crazy Blowhard" folder and leave it at that.

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    JJWeatherman

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    #10  Edited By JJWeatherman
    @9cupsoftea said:

    " @face15 said:

    " @9cupsoftea: Call of Duty is a household name. People tend to forget it, but literally everyone in western society knows what COD is. "

    I think you're overestimating it a bit there. It's only anecdotal, but I can think of twice as many people who don't know it than people who do. Would be interesting to see some poll done about that though. "
    But it's not like it's an ambiguous commercial or anything. I mean, really, an ambiguous commercial is a failed commercial. But my point is that it says "Call of Duty: Black Ops. Rated M for mature" right at the end of the commercial. If someone didn't know that it's a game before the commercial, they'd know before it was over. 
     
    I just can't see anyone honestly getting this mixed up with a firearms commercial.
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    face15

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    #11  Edited By face15
    @9cupsoftea: Well, everyone I know is at least aware of Call of Duty. Granted, I am a sixteen year old boy, so a lot of the people that I know are also sixteen year old boys, but even the people I know that don't fall into that demographic know of it too. I'd also be really interested to see some actual statistics about it.
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    ShinjiEx

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    #12  Edited By ShinjiEx

    Is this video from the Onion?

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    JJWeatherman

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    #13  Edited By JJWeatherman
    @ShinjiEx said:
    " Is this video from the Onion? "
    I wish. I used to kinda like Skip. Now He's my mortal enemy.  :P
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    9cupsoftea

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    #14  Edited By 9cupsoftea
    @JJWeatherman: I think it kind of is an ambiguous commercial - there's no gameplay footage, and no exposition as to what it's advertising until the end. The version I saw didn't even have a gaming system name on it (I think). It could easily be a commercial for some film, or tv show, or even some new form of laser quest. I think a lot of people would have been confused by it, just like those ESPN dudes were. 
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    BraveToaster

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    #15  Edited By BraveToaster

    This is stupid. How can he say that Kobe isn't being a good role model for his daughters? Does this mean that actors who star in movies with violence are just as bad? The commercial has about as much "violence" as a movie trailer aired on cable and they want to pull the Iraq card.  

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    frankxiv

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    #16  Edited By frankxiv

    hahaha this is ridiculous. wasn't kobe the same guy who did the ad where he jumps over a speeding car? TAKE THAT AD OFF THE AIR, KIDS WILL BE TRYING IT. NBA FANS SHOULD BE OFFENDED

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    JJWeatherman

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    #17  Edited By JJWeatherman
    @onimonkii said:
    " hahaha this is ridiculous. wasn't kobe the same guy who did the ad where he jumps over a speeding car? TAKE THAT AD OFF THE AIR, KIDS WILL BE TRYING IT. NBA FANS SHOULD BE OFFENDED "
    Yeah. And that was obviously a great idea since it led to this: 
      
     I love that video.  :P
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    fjordson

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    #18  Edited By fjordson

    Absolutely nothing wrong with the commercial.
     
    Also interesting to note that no one's getting mad at Jimmy Kimmel. 
     
    @JJWeatherman:  Oh man, that's fucking great. Love Inside the NBA.

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    takua108

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    #19  Edited By takua108

    Halfway through watching this, I forgot it was real news and thought it was The Onion. I'm not joking. Then I realized "oh shit, this is an actual thing." 
     
    Nobody's going to be like "Oh, what the fuck is this? Kobe is wielding a weapon on a commercial! Fuck, now I'm going to call all of my bros up and tell them that the basketball-game-watching party tonight has been called off on account of me having seen this commercial with Kobe Bryant holding an assault rifle." 
     
    DISCLAIMER: I have not seen the commercial, who the hell watches television anyways.

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    Hamz

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    #20  Edited By Hamz

    Having your name associated with a product that broke day one sales records is a bad decision for sure.

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    fentonalpha

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    #21  Edited By fentonalpha

    Noob tubing is always crossing the line.... i assume this is what they mean.

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    JJWeatherman

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    #22  Edited By JJWeatherman
    @fentonalpha said:

    " Noob tubing is always crossing the line.... i assume this is what they mean. "

    Oh, that wasn't clear? Skip's whole point was that REAL soldiers don't noob tube and Kobe should be ashamed that he's helped spread the message that they do.  xD
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    Yanngc33

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    #23  Edited By Yanngc33

    Shame on Kobe and Jimmy for being in an ad that promotes war ! Thanks to them, black ops will never sell !

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    natetodamax

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    #24  Edited By natetodamax

    That fact that this is even an issue to these people disgusts me.

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    gla55jAw

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    #25  Edited By gla55jAw

    I've been waiting for this video to get posted. When I first saw this air I posted this. But to sum it up, I just think they just did this to create a controversy. Although I like Skip because he is usually funny, with things that has to do with current technology or pop culture, he usually doesn't know what he's talking about. And yeah, Dana does kind of defend games towards the end. Kobe actually donated a million dollars for returning soldiers when he trained for actually doing the commercial. They should have talked about that.
     
    And the best thing about seeing it live, was on the commercial break right after this debate, the Black Ops commercial came on.

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    JJWeatherman

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    #26  Edited By JJWeatherman
    @gla55jAw said:
    "... Kobe actually donated a million dollars for returning soldiers when he trained for actually doing the commercial. They should have talked about that. "
    Indeed they should have. I'd never heard about that.
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    LordAndrew

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    #27  Edited By LordAndrew
    @JJWeatherman said:
    " But it's not like it's an ambiguous commercial or anything. I mean, really, an ambiguous commercial is a failed commercial. But my point is that it says "Call of Duty: Black Ops. Rated M for mature" right at the end of the commercial. If someone didn't know that it's a game before the commercial, they'd know before it was over. "
    You think that the people who complain about stuff like this are even aware of ESRB ratings?
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    pweidman

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    #28  Edited By pweidman

    Rediculous.  That ad is great and just teases the fun that can be had while playing Blops.  Just another case of the media making up news when none exists,lol.
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    coreytn81

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    #29  Edited By coreytn81

    I don't know about Kobe himself donating money, but Activision did through an endowment:  http://gamerant.com/activision-veterans-event-dyce-51018/ 
     
    it always baffles me how twisted news framing can become, and how we can neglect the positive things people and organizations do for scandal and controversy. On a side note this just reminds me of morning talk shows that air locally, and how they will discuss something controversial with at least one member of the show stating ignorant claims to clearly insight anger or heated debate among callers. The same tactic is used with any broadcast talk show. They want you to come back to hear controversy, and have some charged response. 
     
    I doubt anyone from ESPN gave the Black Ops commercial a second thought the minute after that segment aired. They accomplished their goal in creating a discussion and gaining views. This thread is a good example of that.

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    JJWeatherman

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    #30  Edited By JJWeatherman
    @LordAndrew said:
    " @JJWeatherman said:
    " But it's not like it's an ambiguous commercial or anything. I mean, really, an ambiguous commercial is a failed commercial. But my point is that it says "Call of Duty: Black Ops. Rated M for mature" right at the end of the commercial. If someone didn't know that it's a game before the commercial, they'd know before it was over. "
    You think that the people who complain about stuff like this are even aware of ESRB ratings? "
    Maybe, idk, but I was more talking about the part where it says Call of Duty: Black Ops.
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    citizenkane

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    #31  Edited By citizenkane

    I'm pretty sure like 90% of the NBA fans either play Call of Duty or at least know about it, so appearing in a commercial for said video game won't hurt the image or make people connect it to the whole Gilbert Arenas, guns in the locker room thing.

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    valrog

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    #32  Edited By valrog

    Video isn't available in my country. Also, I didn't see that commercial, either.

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    penguindust

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    #33  Edited By penguindust

    Wow, this video show the complete disconnect mainstream media has with video games still today.  Skip Bayless makes the comparison to soldiers in the field and a video games, by the way, that game doesn't take place in any of the current battlefields anyway.  Of course, he should talk to some actual soldiers and hear that a lot of them actually play Call of Duty games, including while serving overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In his mind, any game that involves war shouldn't be promoted while we are in a time of war.  I guess no action movies where people are shooting each other with guns should be made either.  If you want to talk about hypocrisy, how about excusing that but criticizing video games?  This isn't DOAXBV, which considering Kobe's past legal problems would be a problem.  This is just a very popular video game that the people of an older generation (even older than me) can't seem to grasp as entertainment, but they'll watch two guy pummel each other ringside and talk about the beauty of the sport.  If this was  Gilbert Arenas off the Washington Wizards who had a gun issue in the locker room, then it would be a problem.  Hell, Michael Vick probably shouldn't be lending his likeness to Pokemon games, too.  

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    PoppaKyle

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    #34  Edited By PoppaKyle

    This is stupid.. It's not like it was Gilbert Arenas or Delonte West or someone who got in trouble for gun related incidents.
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    mzuckerm

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    #35  Edited By mzuckerm
    @JJWeatherman: Saw that live, one of the best bits the TNT NBA crew has put together.  Love it.
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    #36  Edited By Skeme347

    not available in my Country? FUUUUUUUUU since when is ESPN not available in Canada?

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