Marvel Rivals TikTok Ad In Breach Of Advertising Ethics For Promoting Sexual Violence Against Women

Marvel Rivals isn’t perfect, but there’s very little for players to complain about. Besides a few balancing issues, it has a healthy content roadmap, great overall gameplay, and devs that listen to the players, even if the players are wrong sometimes. No wonder it has been able to hold on to its player base more than any other recent game.

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For a game with so much going for it, it’s a bit bizarre that it has this oversight.

However, it seems the game has found itself in hot water due to a rather poorly worded ad on TikTok. The Ad Standards Community Panel brought up a particular TikTok ad featuring Invisible Woman in her Malice skin with the words, “ABUSE HER This Season” as it promotes sexual violence against women.

Marvel Rival Ad Is In Breach Of Code Of Ethics

As spotted by VideoGamer, The Ad Standards Community Panel has explained that the ad in question goes against the Code of Ethics for Violence along with Sex/sexuality/nudity. The case report reveals that “This TikTok advertisement features a cartoon image of a woman laying back on something wearing a bodysuit, boots and gloves. The text “Abuse her this season” is also featured.”

The woman in question is Invisible Woman in her Malice skin, which, as you know, is quite revealing. While the skin itself is not the problem, it’s the “Abuse her this season” line which has raised concerns.

The report continues, “The still image lasts for two seconds, before depicting game footage with a player saying “Guardian Shield is one of the most busted abilities in the game. So abuse Invisible Woman while you can, but she also has some crazy synergies which is what Marvel Rivals is all about!”

The panel reportedly investigated the ad after a few complaints. “The Panel noted that the first two seconds of the advertisement featured a still image of a cartoon woman with the text ‘abuse her’,” said the case report. “The Panel considered that the most likely interpretation was that the advertisement was inviting the viewer to harm the woman.”

While the words in question mean to tell players to use Invisible Woman and her abilities more in Marvel Rivals, “abuse her” is a terrible and distasteful choice of words.

Third-Person Shooter

Action

Multiplayer

Released

December 6, 2024

ESRB

T For Teen // Violence

Developer(s)

NetEase Games

Publisher(s)

NetEase Games