Chilean PS3 ad depicts gamer giving blood to Nazi officer [update]

[Update: Apparently, BBDO Chile created these ads to submit to a number of ad design competitions and festivals, and received no official endorsement or approval from Sony. BBDO Chile's president has issued an apology for the use of Sony's branding without its permission. His full statement can be found after the jump.]

Original: Here we go again: A Chilean advertisement for PS3, created by major ad firm BBDO, has become the source of a great deal of controversy for showing a modern day gamer giving a blood transfusion ... to a Nazi! The National Socialist in question is intended to be Erwin Rommel, a German field marshal whose humane treatment of captive soldiers and refusal to kill Jewish civilians made him a fairly respected military figure -- but we doubt the casual observer's initial reaction to the ad goes much further than, "Oh gawd, is that a ... swastika!"

Then again, after being accused of promoting racism and endorsing, nay, providing instructions on suicide, accusations of harboring Nazi sympathies is kind of par for the course for Sony's PlayStation advertising. Check out the full advertisement -- as well as a similar, equally perplexing ad depicting a gamer giving his still-beating heart to Joan of Arc -- after the jump.

(By the way, we'll be patrolling comments on this post for any invocation of Godwin's Law. Keep it civil, gang.)

[Via Engadget]

"'This creative design did not involve and was never approved by Sony Computer Entertainment or Sony. This "mock campaign" was developed by BBDO Chile staff and was submitted to various creative competitions/festivals without prior notification or approval from SCE/Sony, and it is not representative of the views or advertising policies of SCE/Sony. BBDO Chile apologizes for using this creative concept without authorization or prior approval, and for its misrepresentation of the PlayStation brand and its values.'"

-- Cristián Lehuedé, president of BBDO Chile