Sony apologizes, changes PS3 ad after Nigerian backlash

The Nigerians have won! Well, kind of. See, earlier this week, Sony ran afoul of the Nigerian government after they put out a PS3 Slim ad that the offended party believed portrayed Nigeria as the home of fraud. They asked for a public apology and the ad to be taken out of circulation, and it seems Sony has moved to address the issue.

Thanks to zman7861 for the tip!

The Nigerians have won! Well, kind of. See, earlier this week, Sony ran afoul of the Nigerian government after they put out a PS3 Slim ad that the offended party believed portrayed Nigeria as the home of fraud. They asked for a public apology and the ad to be taken out of circulation, and it seems Sony has moved to address the issue, first by sending out this apology:

It has come to our attention that a recent TV advertisement for PlayStation may have offended some members of the Nigerian community. We never intended to create a situation that would upset anyone, and we have taken action to immediately remove the advertisement from the air. We apologize to anyone this may have offended.

… and then changing the ad that got them in hot water in the first place.

The original ad contained the line, “Bernie, You can’t believe everything you read on the Internet otherwise I’d be a Nigerian millionaire by now.” That was what sparked the whole issue. As shown in the new version below, the line’s been changed.

I’m not going to comment on the political correctness or whatever of anything in that video. I’m just going to say I like it. It’s nice to see that Sony has a sense of humor in their ad arsenal these days and not just creepy alien babies.

Thanks to zman7861 for the tip!

• PS3 advert irritates Nigerian Government, wants public apology