This banned Xbox ad from 2002 has been going viral again and it goes pretty hard
Back in 2002 this TV and cinema advert was first shown to promote the European launch of the first generation Xbox. It was only aired for 3 months before being banned by the Independent Television Commission, yet it still went on to win a slew of industry awards. So what was all the fuss about?
Thanks to @Columned, who shared it on Twitter, we can see exactly what all the fuss was about. We remember seeing it at the time and thinking it was rather, um… bold and it’s fair to say it’s still as impactful as ever.
Let’s take a look…
Every once and a while i remember this Xbox ad pic.twitter.com/K15VmMFOl5
— Columned (@Columned_) November 10, 2024
Wow! Wonderfully disturbing. Perhaps they got their inspiration from Samuel Beckett’s dystopian line from Waiting for Godot – ‘They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more’. Or maybe not.
1.
where is the xbox part bruh pic.twitter.com/pgnTDkPNRU
— (@clipping808) November 11, 2024
2.
Well that was worth the 80 year flight through the sky in the nude… pic.twitter.com/1EtIg0Qv28
— Chip Whitehouse ️ (@ChipWhitehouse) November 11, 2024
3.
There’s some line at the end like “Life is short, play Xbox” or whatever
— Bluehaired Liberal (@RatBehaviour) November 10, 2024
4.
I remember watching this ad play in Victoria Station on the big screen back when I lived in London and I don’t think it made me want to buy an xbox, instead it made me want to go to church.
— Matt (@_apollo0x) November 11, 2024
5.
From the womb to the tomb…
This is a pretty dark ad for Xbox
— Stardust Redding ⭐️ (@StardustRedding) November 12, 2024
6.
when I was like 7 or 8 this used to be the scariest thing i ever saw and i used to cry my eyes out every time it came on tv lol https://t.co/MrcutwtdTZ
— Alexis (she/her) ️⚧️ (dm me the word ‘deer’) (@AlexisuwuAlexis) November 12, 2024
7.
I wonder if someone saw this ad and immediately went out and bought an Xbox https://t.co/RqZLWURtO9
— Bl4aze (@Bl4azeZ) November 12, 2024
8.
this is what time feels like after you turn 30 https://t.co/F3yP7g2niZ
— weh (@bickduttbooba) November 12, 2024
Sweet dreams everyone!
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Source @Columned_