A complaint made by someone against a Diablo 4 "Welcome to Hell" billboard ad has been dismissed by advertising standards officials in Australia. The complaint was sent to the Australian Ad Standards Community Panel. In it, the unnamed person issuing the complaint says that the billboard "brought back memories of the hell of the two years of lockdowns in Melbourne."
The complaint went on to say that the advertisement also offended Christians and Catholics. The complaint was also accused of "promoting evil and satanic paraphernalia." It continues, "The words 'welcome to Hell Melbourne' as part of the advertisement for this game and a picture of a devil are offensive to me as a Christian."
The imagery is also inappropriate for my children to see and has already given them nightmares. The imagery is frightening to children as the demonic looking character is staring at the camera, creating the effect of staring at the observer. It is located in an prominent position beside a busy freeway where children have a clear view of the very large Billboard.
I feel it's inappropriate to show such disgusting and disturbing content on a billboard where children are seeing this on a daily basis. It has no context and for an adult of 43, I found it unsettling.
It’s scary for young children who see it, but even as an adult it brought back memories of the hell of the two years of lockdowns in Melbourne. The language and words used are not necessary to get across the message about the release of this game.​
I feel it's inappropriate to show such disgusting and disturbing content on a billboard where children are seeing this on a daily basis. It has no context and for an adult of 43, I found it unsettling.
It’s scary for young children who see it, but even as an adult it brought back memories of the hell of the two years of lockdowns in Melbourne. The language and words used are not necessary to get across the message about the release of this game.​
The panel also did not see any sort of violence in the ad. They compared the image of Lilith, Diablo 4's primary antagonist, to Disney's Maleficent and the football club nicknamed "The Demons."
Somewhere in Melbourne today, the sound of once tightly clutched pearls hitting the pavement could be heard.
