DCist: Do the Fallout 3 Metro Ads Go Too Far?

lax01

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:58:52 -0500

Note to self: do not piss off Fallout nerds

Wallenda

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 13:27:50 -0500

If you look closely, you can see the traffic backed up on the Wilson Bridge.

Bethesdaist

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:09:16 -0500

Wow, how many first-time posters crawled away from their bag of Doritos in Mom's basement to weigh in on this story? Guess what kids: we get that it's a video game, and video games are your lives. Get over it. Go play in the sunshine and enjoy the meat world for once in your sodden, mildewy lives. In the immortal words of Parappa: "I gotta do what? I GOTTA BELIEVE!"

kyndmusic

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:26:27 -0500

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23775429-2,00.html Wrong link, my bad

kyndmusic

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:26:06 -0500

Firstly, none of you seem to focus on the fact that this is a video game! Get over it. It is meant to be depressing... Here is the overview http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/info/overview.html On the other hand none of you are mentioning the fact that this graphic (used in the story) was stolen by agents of the FBI and actually used in a briefing to state that this was the goal of Al Qaeda. This is ridiculous, post 9/11 or not people should be thinking about what they are bothered by. For those of you that are 'disturbed' or 'offended' by this image; grow up. You have never been targeted by a nuclear weapon, nor are you ever likely to see anything like this image. Unless of course it is sent here from Russia. Oh, and the FBI story is here http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/info/overview.html

stmove

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 09:29:57 -0500

Anything to make Metro Center more depressing. That place is way too upbeat! I remember well the charm of reading the headlines of an economic meltdown a few weeks ago, looking up and seeing the rumpled denizens standing beneath giant murals of their city destroyed while staring at their shoes. As the waves of black coats rides down the escalator, it is nice to see apocalypse depicted above. In a metro that already looks like the concrete and dim fluorescent ejaculation of some communist sci-fi writer, It was a cheery time. Ah, Dolce vida! Like Capri in June.

monkeyrotica

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 06:30:16 -0500

Ceci n'est pas un Armageddon.

Bethesdaist

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 23:45:20 -0500

Metro Center is a depressing enough stop (dark, dirty, run down, noisy) without these depressing ads all over the damn place. I feel like Winston Smith just waiting for my Victory gin and gritty chocolate and two minute hate when I'm at Metro Center as it is, and these ads ain't helping things. Why not put up ads for Parappa the Rapper or Nintendogs or Hello Kitty Island of Adventure? Or at least the Halo 2 Solid Gold Elite Dancers. Something cheery like that shit.

mho

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:18:35 -0500

@Megatron I don't see why this particular fictional event is bunching so many more panties than any of the other stories we see advertised every day., It's because the terrorists have won, totally crushing cancer, heart disease and car crashes.

TheSpacePope

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:54:06 -0500

Video Game Nerd Alert: Fallout 3 takes place in an alternate reality based on Washington DC, but not exactly the same, so I suppose the landmark arguments can be dismissed based on this premise. As far as the ads on the metro go, I welcome the change. As stated before, the plethora of Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Boeing add, though possibly marginally effective, are not pertinent to those of use who are not considering a new joint tactical helicopter to fly to work in. In fact, I think the effectiveness of the Fallout 3 ads are much greater. As someone who does play video games, I had not considered the game until teased with the possibility of seeing if my home made it through the apocalypse. (Other aspects of the game have merit too)

downtown rez

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:52:23 -0500

Thanks for the thoughts, IMGoph

Stanton Park

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 17:01:25 -0500

I'm with RJ and mrfochs. What disturbs me about these ads is their complete lack of geographic integrity. It appears sometime prior to the apocalypse, Rosslyn moved downriver, maybe even into SW DC. I lived here through 9/11. I know people who were killed in terrorist attacks around the world. I lived in London when it was actually being attacked by terrorists, but these ads don't bother me at all. Almost any place is a potential target for terrorists, hostile space aliens, and others. Why would a picture of any other city, real or imaginary, be any different? And if simply being reminded of an attack is cause for concern, we should eliminate all the monuments and memorials to them. In any case, I am not willing to throw the First Amendment under the bus (train?) to eliminate these ads. While commercial speech does get less protection than some other types of speech, Metro cannot pick and choose which ads they like and which they don't. They can regulate time, place, and manner of speech, but once they open up the stations to advertisements, they have little control over specific ads. Personally, the ads for The Body exhibit a year or so ago made me squeamish, but that doesn't mean they should have been censored. And if the graphics are as cool in the game as they are in the Metro, I just might buy it. My $50 won't fully offset their Metro ad campaign expenses, but it's effective advertising.

IMGoph

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:37:43 -0500

downtown rez: i have no idea, but i've told anyone who'll listen that one of wmata's biggest problems is that whoever they have running the department that solicits the rental of ad space should be fired. like, publicly humiliated-fired. it's embarrassing as hell to get on a bus or train and see ads for something that took place in april still advertised in october. that's just a terrible utilization of the available advertising space. they've been doing that for years, and it just strikes me that whomever is in charge down there isn't trying....at all.

downtown rez

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:25:50 -0500

IMGoph- I hear you. Any word on how much revenue is generated by ads? Any word on whether MD or VA will (can?) pay their share of this?: www.news8.net/news/stories/1008/558230.html

sixfive

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:23:04 -0500

f*cking awesome.

Eighthman

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:20:54 -0500

Cool! I love apocalyptic artwork. Famed space artist Chesley Bonestell made nice ones of Manhattan being destroyed (one by asteroid, another by several nuclear bombs). One of my favorite DC-related ones was a poster showing a view in Virginia looking north on I-95 toward downtown with a nuclear mushroom cloud in the distance. It was a fine-art print that I saw in a shop in Georgetown some 30+ years ago. It as titled something about "corporate wars." I just tried to find it online, with no immediate success. It was on the front page of the Wash Post Style section way back when, and I cut it out and had it on my wall for years. Time to check the Fallout website to see if those images are available for download. Desktop wallpaper!

arglebargle

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:30:42 -0500

I think all metro ads should be made up of puppy dogs, kittens, and children at play. That way no one could possibly be offended. The Trojan ads will be especially interesting.

Megatron

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:18:10 -0500

14th&You: I'm sorry that you feel my responses are callous. I feel strongly that people should be able to distinguish between fact and fiction, and think it's hypocritical to call for the removal of these posters when there is plenty of already media out in the world that depicts the destruction of DC, or a pandemic of massive proportions that wipes out most of the world's population, or a giant snake stalking and eating bad actors in the Amazonian rain forest. Sure those things are scary, but we see a poster or watch a movie or read a book and know that they're fictional events. There's an infinitesimal chance that they could transpire, but no one really thinks they will. I don't see why this particular fictional event is bunching so many more panties than any of the other stories we see advertised every day.

IMGoph

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:16:11 -0500

usually, i'd agree, downtown rez—but they need the fucking money—so i say go for it.

downtown rez

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:08:50 -0500

I'm still thinking advertisements- any advertisements- plastered all over metro is tackier than grandma's rose pattern wall-paper.

Megatron

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:06:45 -0500

Sure. But say they built a game around the Jim Crow South. What would you say to ads with pictures of a bunch of lynchers? That would be pretty messed up right? So what's the difference? I would be more surprised that someone would spend the millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours necessary to make a major game with subject matter that has such limited appeal. However, if such a game did come to fruition, the producer is allowed to advertise their product through any legal means they deem appropriate, and sometimes shock value can go a long way. Sometimes it also backfires, but the point of advertising is to reach a target audience, and an ad campaign like the one you described would certainly accomplish that. Do I think it would it be in poor taste? Yes. Would I want to be anywhere near the "target audience" for the above imaginary game? No. Do I think that someone shouldn't be allowed to put up said posters just because I find it in poor taste? Hell no. Also, Metro's legal department should carefully consider what happened with GTA4 ads in Chicago before caving into to any of the people who are calling for the removal of the Fallout3 posters.

run_for_the_hills

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:00:09 -0500

superquail [golf clap]

superquail

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:56:05 -0500

Here's a thought: this is how terrorists win. The more you change your behaviour in response to their actions, the more you overreact to trivial things like advertising in metro stations, the more successful they are. That's the point of terrorism--to instill fear in people. When people are complain about being "forced" to look at screenshots from a fucking videogame? That's when you know they've gotten exactly what they wanted.

Tom Lee

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:54:51 -0500

Samtallic: the courts have consistently differentiated between the access rights enjoyed by different types of speech, with commercial speech receiving less protection. From Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Ass'n (thanks, Wikipedia!): We have not discarded the "common-sense" distinction between speech proposing a commercial transaction, which occurs in an area traditionally subject to government regulation, and other varieties of speech. To require a parity of constitutional protection for commercial and noncommercial speech alike could invite dilution, simply by a leveling process, of the force of the Amendment's guarantee with respect to the latter kind of speech. Rather than subject the First Amendment to such a devitalization, we instead have afforded commercial speech a limited measure of protection, commensurate with its subordinate position in the scale of First Amendment values, while allowing modes of regulation that might be impermissible in the realm of noncommercial expression. Your ability to advertise on Metro is not constitutionally guaranteed. I haven't been able to find the specific requirements on WMATA's website, but their online advertising policy, at least, requires that ads be "noncontroversial".

14thandYou

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:41:45 -0500

Megatron, you're being an ass. Personally, I don't find the posters scary/offensive/whatever...but I can see how someone would.

Samtallic

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:41:28 -0500

"And Anzalone is certainly right to point out that defenses of the campaign on First Amendment grounds — like this one — are a bit silly." Silly? what's silly is that all these "dcists" are willing to stand up for these buildings, but not what the buildings are based on: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." All of you complainers are pathetic.

erin_m

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:34:59 -0500

Letter-writing man might call me twisted and depraved, but those posters bring a smile to my face every day. Not because I want to see the city destroyed or anything, but because it's a genius bit of advertising in the otherwise oppressively gloomly, delay-ridden hellhole known as Metro. It's just a game.

Tom Lee

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:34:48 -0500

Also, regarding the cost/benefit of advertising -- I wouldn't put too much stock by those arguments even when it comes to selling widgets. When it comes to tracking contract wins? It's not as if they can look at their balance sheet and say "first-quarter missile guidance system sales are up 0.03% -- those ads in Gallery Place are really working!" There's just no way to measure the marginal impact of an defense ad on Metro. They've got money and they're throwing it around -- and hey, bully for them. Just because it's happening doesn't prove that it's a wise decision, though.

Reid

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:32:15 -0500

People have to deal with things that remind them of traumatic events every day, from driving by the pentagon on their way to work in the morning to seeing the suit they wore to their mother's funeral hanging in the closet. Sure. But say they built a game around the Jim Crow South. What would you say to ads with pictures of a bunch of lynchers? That would be pretty messed up right? So what's the difference? They both depict incredibly traumatic events and imply a threat to the audience. Is a Metro rider's fear of being lynched (or otherwise becoming a victim of a hate crime) somehow more legitimate or sensitive than another rider's fear of getting vaporized in a terrorist nuclear attack? Granted that the lynchings and hate crimes actually happened, whereas the destruction of DC hasn't (at least not in the last 190 years or so). But it's still very possible. Frankly I don't think these ads are offensive, but they are certainly tasteless.

Tom Lee

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:29:42 -0500

Reid: it's the idea of advertising military weapons systems that I find to be stupid. If a poster on Metro can affect a multi-million-dollar defense procurement process, our tax dollars are being wasted. If it can't, and instead the defense firms are spending their advertising budgets for no good reason... our tax dollars are being wasted. It's nice that Metro's getting a tiny piece of the defense pie, I suppose, but it hardly seems like an efficient way of disbursing funds. In short, it's a waste of money or it ought to be a waste of money. Either way, I'd rather that the ads weren't there.

run_for_the_hills

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:19:08 -0500

Do they have this problem in NYC or Baghdad?

Megatron

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:14:19 -0500

onefemme: But the movies still show DC getting destroyed, so we shouldn't allow them to be shown anymore, right? Because delicate flowers such as yourself may be offended and/or scared. People have to deal with things that remind them of traumatic events every day, from driving by the pentagon on their way to work in the morning to seeing the suit they wore to their mother's funeral hanging in the closet. That's no reason to call for something to be taken down from public display.

Boomhauer

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:13:07 -0500

Will there be Dogmeat?

onefemme

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:01:05 -0500

@ megatron: journalistic & memorial coverage are totally different to advertising a videogame. although, i am bothered when they insist upon showing footage of the attacks. its necessary. & correct me if i'm wrong, but mars attacks and independence day came out long before 2001, so your argument doesn't hold water on that account.

monkeyrotica

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:57:57 -0500

So I'm not seeing the Capitol Visitor Center? If they're going to blow half a billion dollars of my money, I want to see that $h!t blowed up in a video game.

IMGoph

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:49:17 -0500

forzee: amen, a couple of times over there.

Reid

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:48:46 -0500

Wait, I'm confused. Why do you think the Raytheon ads are offensive and dumb? Just because they're not directed to you or even the vast majority of Metro's riders doesn't mean it's dumb to put up the advertisements. I imagine they've done enough cost-benefit analysis to go ahead with them over all these years. And as to why they're offensive: is it simply because they involve military contractors? While they might not be your favorite companies in the world, how does that make their ads offensive?

ChickenArise

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:45:16 -0500

I actually did need a reminder of what post apocalyptic DC will look like. Thanks!

forzee

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:40:10 -0500

this thread has officially gone the route of nonsense. ah internet, how I love thee. back to work.

Deep

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:37:01 -0500

I'm still playing 'Oblivion: The Elders Scrolls V Game of the Year Edition. The game never ends. The fun never ends. I don't have a girlfriend.

blittle

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:36:22 -0500

@registeringsucks Ooo! And for that small Iowa town that they move to, may I suggest beautiful Vedic City? They have people that can float in the air and organic only grocery stores! Talk about disassociation with reality. Maybe!

Mojotron

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:34:35 -0500

This reminds me of the time people started freaking out over that commercial that depicted Christopher Reeves getting out of his wheelchair and walking I didn't mind him getting up and walking, it was he started dancing with the vacuum cleaner that bugged me.

forzee

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:32:17 -0500

This game is great! I've already leveled up enough to earn my "Complain About Trivial Bullshit On The Internet" perk! Zinger!

monkeyrotica

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:31:44 -0500

If anything, these ads don't go far enough. Where are the marauding maniacs with chainsaw guns? Oh, snap. Wrong game.

MB_DC

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:30:10 -0500

This game is great! I've already leveled up enough to earn my "Complain About Trivial Bullshit On The Internet" perk!

monkeyrotica

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:26:35 -0500

These ads don't remind me of that at all. Stop being so afraid. Stop it. You're scaring us. Please don't hurt me!

Disco Stu

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:26:26 -0500

All publicity is good publicity. Any opposition to these adds will just fuel gamers' interest. Just wait for it to blow over and go away. Remember Marilyn Manson? No body cares any more. But for a time, he was enemy number one in disturbing advertising. That being said, as far as DC prospects as a target? Don't let the fear mongers, but they politicians or video game designers push your buttons. (Ha! Pushing buttons... Game controlers, thermo-nuclear war; it's easy!) Anyway, look your fate in the eye and give it the finger.

Rukasu

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:13:46 -0500

http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/vault/diaries_diary6-10.14.08.html good write up by developers on why they chose DC

mrfochs

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:12:26 -0500

Oh and you think the images of destroyed DC are disturbing... They should have used this image from the website in the Metro Center ads. Then see how many people would have been disturbed. http://fallout.bethsoft.com/eng/art/popup_screenshots.html

downtowndc

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:08:24 -0500

any chance one of the awesome flicker users out there can snap a comparison shot? for those of us not accustomed to hovering 300 ft in the air a few blocks northeast of the capitol building it might be pretty cool.

mrfochs

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:07:53 -0500

My favorite image is: http://fallout.bethsoft.com/images/downloads/wallpapers/fallout-wp3-1680x1050.jpg Some how after the nuclear fallout the Jefferson Memorial must have been rotated 90 counter-clockwise or the survivors built a second Washington Monument on top of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving.

monkeyrotica

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:07:03 -0500

This reminds me of the time people started freaking out over that commercial that depicted Christopher Reeves getting out of his wheelchair and walking. People completely lost their $h!t over that one. But I guess when people's realities are so submerged in commercial product placements, it gets kinda hard to make distinctions between what's real and what's someone trying to sell you something. "Crap! That picture looks like DC's blown up! And I didn't get to check out that new small plate restaurant in Shaw! I hope the Sexy Safeway is okay. I could use a zuccini muffin. But I'll only eat the top because I'm on a diet. Does this outfit make me look fat? Be honest."

forzee

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:05:41 -0500

Bikes all day baby!

ces12

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:05:28 -0500

umm.. are these the same people that are unhappy with metro searching our bags randomly to keep possibly terrorists attacks out of metro stations? With the London Tube attacks and other subway/train things planned in New York and other cities, why is this SO much different?

forzee

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:04:57 -0500

i love how people will sit there and not bat an eye at thousands of posters for defense contractors that are actually building weapons that are used to KILL PEOPLE and they get all up in arms about a damn VIDEO GAME. Good point.

ahark1pd

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:03:51 -0500

@forzee and registeringsucks: wow. i mean, just wow. you do know that many of the ads don't have anything but the crumbling city in them, right? who said they were afraid of the robots in a few of them? i mean, did i give you some impression that i'm running for the hills? the question was, do the ads go too far? so i think they do and you don't. awesome. glad we settled that. jeez, calm down. you'd think i'd brought up bikes vs cars.

forzee

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:02:56 -0500

Oh man, I love Abe Vigoda. But to answer your question, i think they do that so that said Mall is still recognizable to the audience.

jetton999

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:01:25 -0500

lame. those are the most awesomest posters i've ever seen. i love how people will sit there and not bat an eye at thousands of posters for defense contractors that are actually building weapons that are used to KILL PEOPLE and they get all up in arms about a damn VIDEO GAME. Reminds me of when all of the Melbournites got so freaked out when the adverts for Mad Max came out in the 70's. 'How can you depict this dystopian Australia? We don't need a daily reminder of how close Australia is to complete and utter post-apocolyptic ruin'. Oh wait, that never happened. Because it would be completely ridiculous if it did.

realidealist

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:00:36 -0500

I was reading the comments on the W.Post site in response to that letter--lots of pissed off people on there. Seeing the photo on here, not knowing about the video game, it's a little frightening. I guess as an ad in a Metro station in the 'advertising' context, it's ok, I'm just paranoid.

monkeyrotica

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:59:25 -0500

Klaatu barada nikto.

monkeyrotica

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:57:50 -0500

I have a similarly uneasy feeling when I see the World Trade Center depicted in movies like Manhattan and Scorcese's early films. Heck, I have to switch off All in the Family before the credits roll because I end up crying like a little bitch. And it's totally ruined Welcome Back Kotter and Barney Miller for me, which is saying a lot for an Abe Vigoda fan such as myself. The thing that bugs me about post-apocalyptic cityscapes is that the CGI always has the buildings half-ruined, like ancient Greek temples or something. Why is the Mall desolate except for a partially cracked Capitol dome? Like in Spielberg's A.I., Manhattan's half under water, but there are the skyscrapers, big old hunks missing, but still standing upright. I guess it's more wistful and romantic than a big, shapeless pile of crap, but if people wanted to pay to see that, Dom DeLuise would be getting more work.

registeringsucks

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:56:13 -0500

If you are that disturbed by a video game ad, pack up your fragile sensibilities and move to a small town in Iowa. The real world is no place for you.

Wizzyliz

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:56:05 -0500

See it, say it ........ "We are from Remulak, a small town in France." And just in time for Halloween: fried chicken embryos and beer!

forzee

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:55:43 -0500

i get it that it's an ad campaign. i get it that it's not real. but i also find the posters pretty disturbing, especially with the very real threats that are out there. it's not like we live in a city where nothing like that could possibly happen. Yeah, I know right! I sometimes worry about Hulking Robotic figures blasting through the city with futuritic guns the size of my house! I also worry about Zombies sometimes... thats it! Halloween is off! until you've watched a plane fly into a building not two miles from your bedroom, you can cry "it's just a poster for pete's sake" all you like, but there's no doubt whatsoever that they're disturbing, and possibly triggering for those who have a deeper connection of the physical destruction of their home-cities. I watched two planes fly into the WTC from the brooklyn heights promenade, and I lost about 20 friends in those buildings. My bedroom, about a mile away in Cobble Hill, was covered in their ashes because my windows were opened on that sunny day. These ads don't remind me of that at all. Stop being so afraid.

IntangibleArts

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:55:08 -0500

EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS will always trump Independence Day for the sheer joy of seeing DC get it's butt punched by hostile forces. As long as those films may walk our streets freely, these ads should be no different. I'm no videogame fan, but I welcome a little artful devastation in my morning commute. Why the hell not?

ahark1pd

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:54:37 -0500

@majapa: i'm with onefemme. i think it just hits too close to home for me--literally, since my house is just outside of the edge of this particular poster. i'm not a screaming paranoid, and 9/11 didn't make me leave, even after losing people in the attack. but i think there's a certain amount of callousness inherent in this kind of campaign. i mean, the folks who did it might be in Rockville/Bethesda, but i'm not staring at their lovely buildings crumbling while waiting for the train. (not that i'm suggesting it--i work in one of those lovely buildings.)

Karon

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:52:57 -0500

I think the ads are hilarious and so much more entertaining than the standard defense contractor ads we are usually stuck with in the metro. I'm a non-gamer but found the advertising compelling enough to check out the website and talk to some gamer friends about whether the game could possibly live up to the advertising. If the art and design of the campaign had been as dreadful as what we usually see in the metro this would be a non-issue because no one would have noticed.

dcD

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:52:55 -0500

Someday pop culture will get DC right. So far, Burn After Reading did the best job. I wanted to cheer when Brad Pitt refused to drink the tap water.

Megatron

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:50:29 -0500

onefemme: does that mean that no media that could possibly remind people of 9/11 should be allowed? Where does that line of reasoning end? You couldn't put up posters for Independence Day? Nor Mars Attacks

majapa

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:45:44 -0500

i get it that it's an ad campaign. i get it that it's not real. but i also find the posters pretty disturbing, especially with the very real threats that are out there. it's not like we live in a city where nothing like that could possibly happen. Hey, then take it as a reminder that we must be constantly vigilant for terrorists and their threats! Don't get lulled into a false sense of security just because we haven't been attacked in 7 years! See it, say it.

monkeyrotica

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:42:17 -0500

Pfft. Forget the Fresh Prince. I want Viveca Fox to save me from the hostile alien invasion. IN MY PANTS.

gmail

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:40:16 -0500

It doesn't look like a post-attack DC as much as DC in 100 years if we all disappeared tomorrow.

demonfafa

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:38:23 -0500

I'm still waiting for Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum to save us all from a hostile alien invasion. Oh wait ... was that a movie or a documentary? Aw, Hell NAW!

Rukasu

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:37:18 -0500

Nothing can destroy the GW Masonic Temple Monument Phallus

onefemme

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:35:05 -0500

i'm of two minds; they are just posters, but they're posters that represent a world in which D.C. has been destroyed. and as someone who moved from D.C. proper to Manhattan a week and a half before 9/11, to have all of the worst sci-fi action destruction movies realized before my very eyes... it's not so fun to have that reenacted for me. until you've watched a plane fly into a building not two miles from your bedroom, you can cry "it's just a poster for pete's sake" all you like, but there's no doubt whatsoever that they're disturbing, and possibly triggering for those who have a deeper connection of the physical destruction of their home-cities.

Wizzyliz

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:34:25 -0500

I'm still waiting for Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum to save us all from a hostile alien invasion. Oh wait ... was that a movie or a documentary?

ahark1pd

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:33:39 -0500

i get it that it's an ad campaign. i get it that it's not real. but i also find the posters pretty disturbing, especially with the very real threats that are out there. it's not like we live in a city where nothing like that could possibly happen. and it's not like i can turn the channel if i don't like what i see--they're everywhere! the images are supposed to be affecting, and they succeed. also, there's something fairly ironic about these being up at the same time that Metro decides to take the terrorist threat "seriously" by searching people's briefcases. all that said, i've just been waiting for the game to come out so the ads would go away.

CrappyHouseInClarendon

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:31:36 -0500

is that supposed to be a future without height limits?

RJ

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:29:01 -0500

Wow, SW sure busted through that building high limit, I am sure there was no view of the Capital from Nats Park. The National Harbor and Alexandria sure like their high rises and I am glad to see Crystal City was absolutely destroyed.

MB_DC

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:23:40 -0500

I picked up my pre-ordered copy from the Columbia Heights Best Buy this morning on my way to work. My Vault Boy bobblehead is sitting at my desk right now. (Yes, I bought the Limited Edition. Yes, I am a really cool guy.) While I was sitting on a bench at the Metro waiting for the train to arrive, I opened up the whole lunchbox container thing and started reading through the instruction manual. When the train arrived, I put all the stuff back into the bag--then noticed that the dude sitting right next to me was doing the exact same thing. We looked at each other's dorky Fallout 3 lunchbox, then at each other, and the dude was just like, "You too, huh?" Greatly looking forward to making my way through a post-apocalyptic Washington D.C.--after the Caps game, of course.

Megatron

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:23:09 -0500

Yes, the company who makes Fallout3 is based in Bethesda (Bethesda Software, natch). And the game does take place in DC. I don't know why they'd spend the money on these crazy-good renderings if it wasn't. I think it's an overreaction to condemn these ads. They're just posters for pete's sake.

Joewithay

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:22:00 -0500

oops forgot the 'K' in Rockville

Joewithay

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:21:24 -0500

Just a video game ad. Plus the developer of the game is base in Rocville, MD.

monkeyrotica

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:20:28 -0500

Meh. I like my postapocalyptic DC Logan's Run style, with lots of Jenny Agutter in a wet nightie and Peter Ustinov just making $h!t up and improvising. And if Crystal City isn't the City of Domes, I don't know what is. Heck, Chinablock is full of "cubs" already. What more do you want?

superquail

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:19:48 -0500

Things that are not the same: 1. Dogs and cats 2. Fruits and vegetables 3. Fiction and reality

Rukasu

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:19:00 -0500

Isn't the company that makes the game based in Bethesda? What would be interesting is whether the "actual" game takes place in DC, or some fictional city...or a fictional city based off real cities like the GTA series. If it doesn't take place in DC then it would not only be a pretty false ad campaign but then you could also throw in the fear of nuclear holocaust complaint.

wonderwazz

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 12:16:15 -0500

it's a friggin' game. avert your eyes if it bothers you.