The poster, which has the blood-soaked man reaching towards the viewer, is for 'The Suffering', a survival horror game that comes with an 18 certificate.
In the game, players take on the identity of Torque, who is jailed for a murder he may or may not have committed. The character is next in line for execution when monstrous apparitions besiege the prison and inadvertently free him.
A second poster for the game depicted a run-down prison block with barred cell windows and prisoners reaching out of the windows with bloodstains visible on their arms and the window sills with the words "Prison is hell".
PlayStation2 has said it will not use either poster again after the Advertising Standards Authority said the distressed figure covered in blood was unsuitable for display in an untargeted medium. It also said that the image was distressing and unsuitable for display where it could be seen by children and would be likely to cause serious or widespread offence. It did not object to the second poster, because the image was much less prominent.
A national press ad for Daimler Chrysler's Smart Roadster has also been slammed this week for being irresponsible and encouraging dangerous driving.
The ad, headlined "Scalextric, what say we do this for real?", showed the vehicle next to a Scalextric track. It was accompanied by the text "Quiver like an itchy trigger finger? What say we swap the snap-together circuits for snaking B-roads and winding back lanes?... Get ourselves a life-sized roadster that grabs each corner by the throat?".
Daimler Chrysler said that it did not condone nor encourage speeding or reckless driving and that the intention was to convey fun instead of speed. The ASA said that it was likely to encourage drivers to drive irresponsibly and dangerously because it compared driving B-roads and winding back lanes with Scalextric racing.
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