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I wondered if anyone else had encountered the poster (see link above) whilst shopping at Tesco.
Promotional material for the latest Grand Theft Auto game, the game itself infamous for its sexual content, is currently on display in my local Tesco Home store. I do my best to avoid such images as I find them offensive, however in this instance, I had no choice but to view the poster, due to the material's sheer size and placement.
Furthermore, as a firm believer that girls are being sexualised at younger and younger ages, I take steps not to expose my young nieces to such images, but as with myself, the girls had no choice but to be confronted by this "cartoon" bikini clad youth. In addition, given that the release date for the game is September, the material is likely to be on display throughout the school holidays.
Having discussed the matter with in-store customer service I was told that, as this was the only promotional material for the game sent to the stores, it could not be neither be moved or removed. Furthermore, I was also told that I would find similar material in stores such as GAME and HMV.
Whilst I would disagree with the display of the image in any context, I was particularly concerned to find it within Tesco. I had until now, regarded Tesco as a family-friendly store. The same cannot be said for the other stores mentioned. The fact that the image was the only material supplied is no excuse for displaying it within stores.
Having then emailed my concerns to the online customer service team, I was assured that although Tesco has "no intention of causing any offence...This game is going to be very popular with many customers and it is something that we need to advertise." Does this mean then that however inappropriate, out of place and potentially harmful the item, as long as it is popular with many of their customers, Tesco will continue to stock the item?
As Tesco "will continue to monitor all customer feedback (they) receive relating to this product," I would urge anyone who feels the same way to feedback either in-store or via
0800 505 555
[email protected] or [email protected]
en-gb.facebook.com/tesco (Tesco Facebook page)
twitter.com/UKTesco (Tesco Twitter page)
Ultimately I believe Tesco has been irresponsible in its decision to display this material and is willing to dismiss the potential harm this could do in favour of popularity (and profits no doubt).
Many thanks