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UK Ad Watchdog Bans Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Airport Ad for Trivialising Sexual Violence

Regulators said the humour hinged on an implied threat of non-consensual penetration.

Overview

  • The ASA upheld nine complaints about the spot and ruled it must not appear again in its current form.
  • Investigators found the ad’s humour derived from humiliation and an implied threat of non-consensual penetration, breaching CAP Code rules 1.3 and 4.1.
  • Two complaints alleging the commercial encouraged drug use were rejected as the regulator deemed that interpretation unlikely.
  • The November 2025 ad ran on YouTube and on-demand slots for ITV and Channel 5 after Clearcast pre-cleared it with an “ex-kids” timing restriction.
  • Activision Blizzard UK defended the piece as a parodic, adult-targeted scene; the clip remains viewable on YouTube and features Nikki Glaser and Peter Stormare as “Replacers.”