Oh Big Blue, you sure do know the way to a gamer's heart. Instead of creating a brand new marketing campaign for print magazines, Blockbuster chose to take screen shots of their already produced TV ads. Worse yet, it looks like those pictures were taken straight off of the standard definition television. Hell, you can see the scan lines. The least they could have done was hired somebody with photography experience. Who do they think they are, GamePro?

But I have a real problem with this premise. It suggests that you could help an old lady, mow the lawn or clean your room. You see, those would be the "responsible" (hence "mature") things to do. On the other hand, you could rent the coolest games at Blockbuster. This sends the wrong impression about games. Why must we choose between helping an old woman and renting a game? Just because I'm a gamer, that doesn't mean that I automatically kick old women when they're down.

And who the hell is Blockbuster Video to tell me what responsibility is? This is the company that for much of the 1990s had a monopoly on the video rental market and strong armed their competition until they were the only game in town. This is the same company that rallied against DVDs for years, until finally being forced to adopt it. This is the same company that lost several court battles over their return policies. This is the very same company that censored movies and wouldn't support the NC-17 rating. You want to play it that way, Blockbuster? Fine! But at least give us a commercial that is more than just you taking pictures of your crappy TV set.

FROM: I'm Bad Advertising ... Get Me Out of Here!