Recipients of the mailshot, which promoted the new PlayStation game Formula One 2001 World, complained that they had been tricked into thinking that they had been sent a personal letter from an Italian teenager.
The mailing, which arrived in an airmail envelope and looked as if it had been handwritten on paper torn from a notepad, began, "Hello, I am Gian-Franco. I am 14 years old. I live in Italia. I am your biggest fan also I hope you win the PlayStation Formula One 2001 World championship. Woohoo that would make me happy."
A page that looked as if it had been torn from a glossy magazine, featuring an interview with Formula 1 championship racer Jenson Button, accompanied the letter.
Sony Computer Entertainment defended the mailing by saying that it was intended to illustrate a fun idea, that every customer could be a famous F1 driver when playing the game.
However, in an atmosphere where advertising to children is being treated with extreme sensitivity, the ASA ruled that Sony had violated three sections of its code and asked the advertiser to avoid using this approach in the future.
The campaign was considered to fall foul of the "truthfulness" requirement and to exploit the credulity of children. The home entertainment giant also failed to live up to the code specifying that "advertisements should be designed and presented in such a way that it is clear that they are advertisements".