Square Enix cans eyebrow-raising Hitman Facebook marketing campaign

Following a controversial Hitman: Absolution trailer that launched earlier this year, Square Enix has once against found itself in hot water, thanks to a Hitman Facebook campaign that asked users to call "hits" on their friends. The 'Hire Hitman' website, which was only live for less than an hour thanks to a flurry of complaints across social media, allowed users to "hit" the Facebook timelines of friends, for having "big ears," "small tits" or "a tiny penis," among other possible selections. Users would then be able to click on the "hit" on their Facebook wall, click through to the Hitman website, and choose to make a hit back. The link to the campaign now redirects to the series' official website. Square Enix marketers were trying to be clever in their socially-networked vulgarity, but aside from the tasteless insults, it was the campaign's insensitivity toward the real issue of cyber-bullying that shocked many denizens of the web. Gamasutra has contacted Square Enix querying the move. The marketing campaign was removed rather swiftly as press, developers and gamers alike took to Twitter and Facebook to note their disgust at the stunt. Earlier this year, a trailer depicting sexy dominatrix nuns getting violently beaten and killed by Hitman's protagonist caused offense, leading developer IO Interactive to apologize.