In the aftermath of the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school, the advertising freight train chugs along mostly unaffected. Video game and movie studios continue to hype violent entertainment, filling coveted advertising slots with gunfire and explosions. It creates a juxtaposition with grim reality and an unspoken commentary on the violence Americans see and sell every day.
Former Obama advisor David Axelrod, who helped orchestrate the President's successful 2008 White House campaign, was none too pleased to see ads for violent games during NFL football last night:
That same night, NFL programming was pre-empted for President Obama's speech at the Sandy Hook vigil.
Though Axelrod's words weren't specifically directed towards Sandy Hook, they are likely related, one more entry in the tapestry of varied reactions to the shooting and new calls for gun regulation, including a proposed 24-hour cease-fire for all violent games as a memorial to the victims of the shooting.
(Spotted by Polygon.)