SEEK pulls Mass Effect 2 viral marketing campaign job ad
- 14 January, 2010 16:58
- Comments 5
SEEK has pulled a viral marketing ad for upcoming video game Mass Effect 2 just hours after it was posted, citing a breach of the company’s fair-use policy.
As reported byComputerworld, the ad offered positions as Biotic-Powered Super-Soldiers at a company called Cerberus.
“Due to the recent disappearance of entire human colonies, Cerberus is looking for a team of elite assassins to join the fight for mankind,” the ad read.
“You will have a passion for the mercenary industry and a natural flair for killing… Blood, guts and exploding torsos is all in a day’s work for you, and you love it!”
A spokesperson for SEEK would not disclose who placed the ad, citing confidentiality purposes, but said a new account had been created prior to posting. The account was now on hold following the discovery and take-down of the advertisement.
“The ACCC actually has clear guidelines on advertising and ensuring that any job advertised is a real one and not misleading,” the spokesperson told Computerworld. “If it’s brought to our attention outside our current checks then we’ll take down the ad immediately, which we’ve done in this case."
The incident follows the posting of an IT Developer ad for Border Express on the site earlier in the week, which featured job requirements such as “DD Cup breasts” and a “slim waist.”
The SEEK spokesperson said that the ad, which has since been amended and referred to the police, was modified by at the account owners end, not SEEK’s.
“There was no breach of security at SEEK,” the spokesperson said. “The account password and login were used from that advertiser. We’ve passed the details onto Albury/Wodonga Police for their review and the ad has been amended I believe to reflect the true role and advertised in line with the Employment Act.”
The spokesperson said SEEK was not reviewing its policies despite its use for viral marketing arguing it already had a series of checks in place which were reviewed regularly.
“Given the ACCC laws plus our terms and conditions, if we feel the ad is inappropriate then we’ll remove it while it’s investigated — and in the future continue to review and remove ads if we feel they’re inappropriate,” the spokesperson said.
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Comments
Enigmatic
Obviously seek don't have very good checks if this could actually slip passed unnoticed.
At the very least they should have a "swear filter" which would have words that are not appropriate to be used. While it may not catch everything, it would certainly cut out a lot more than they are doing now
Anonymous
You can't see how much they're catching. For all we know this is just one that got through out of thousands.
Look at the stuff that's going up on ebay these days...
Enigmatic
Can you think of any reason why "breast" should appear in a job advert?
Standard swear filters cut out all instances of body parts, common swear words and typical phrases which are not appropriate.
That one DEFINATELY should have been caught
Anonymous Llama
Enigmatic - Duuuh - No. There are plenty of reasons why breast should appear in a job - or other - ad.
Any job to do with working at of for a Breast clinic or breast screening service - cleaner, operator, admin, yardsman, IT support, driver, radiologist, receptionist, accountant etc.
Anything to do with advertising the Clinic or Service, services, times of operation, place, costs, etc.
Pretty hard to anonymously describe these places without that big bad word Breast. What - did you forget about those ?
Chicken Breast Fillet??
Filtering without context does not work. Nipple - shhhhh!
Llama
Enigmatic
Llama,
We are talking about an IT advert here, and we are not talking about the word being used in the "Job Description" either. While you may find there are many reasons to include the word "breast" anywhere you feel like it, I think you are reaching and trying to stretch to fit your own point of view.
People pay a PREMIUM to use services like Seek, and they expect a certain level of professionalism. That job adverts can get to the general public with very little validation first is simply unprofessional.
At the very least, the word should have flagged it for personal review before being accepted.
But of course... feel free to make up anything else you need to support your own point of view. So far you have 2 examples, which would possibly cover 0.0000002% of the job adverts. Way to go!
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