NATION Ads shock in effort to alert parents to violence in games

The radio spots feature children talking about mature-rated video games.
By BILL HUTCHENS
TACOMA NEWS TRIBUNE
"I ran over this old lady, and she was still alive, so I just set her on fire."
If you're listing to your radio and suddenly hear mousy little children's voices nonchalantly referencing horrific crimes, don't panic. It's a new public service announcement from Mothers Against Violence in America (MAVIA), designed to rattle listeners into awareness about violent video games.
OK, go ahead and panic a little bit.
The truth of the matter is that there are violent games out there, and parents don't always monitor game content. Young children are playing excessively violent games, and that should be enough to stir anyone to concern.
But in case the thought of kids getting their hands on these games isn't enough to make parents pay attention, perhaps MAVIA's shocking commercials will do the trick.
Listen online
Listen at www.mavia.org, or if you happen to manage a radio station or Web site, consider downloading the announcement and adding it to your repertoire of PSAs. The spot has been running on some Western Washington radio stations all week.
The 60-second PSAs consist of a string of shocking comments from kids, followed by a reminder for parents: "Mature-rated games are not for children. Parents, you need to know what the game is before you buy it."
Some of the comments ("Tyler and I spent most of the day carjacking and running whores") are more obviously scripted than others, but a MAVIA spokeswoman said they're based on real conversations.
"We listened to how kids talk about the games during sting operations and youth forums -- and based the script on their descriptions," Julia Hokanson wrote in an e-mail response to an inquiry about the authenticity of the comments. "The boys in the piece are familiar with how horrific the games really are."
MAVIA makes no bones about the fact that it was going for shock value. In a statement the group released last week, Tracy Wong, creative director for the ad company that helped build this and other MAVIA campaigns, said, "We knew that in order to cut through the very cluttered advertising landscape, we were going to have to shock parents into listening ... Parents have the power to encourage healthy play by keeping M-rated [mature] video games away from children. I think this radio announcement effectively captures that call to action."
What do you think? Too much? Just enough? About time? Drop me a line at bill.hutchens@mail.tribnet.com.
XOn the Net: Mothers Against Violence in America, www.mavia.org