The Nigerian federal government has criticised Sony for a PlayStation 3 advert in which it implied that Nigerians are fraudsters.
The advert, for Sony's new "slim" PlayStation 3, shows a salesman being asked about the price of the console. "You can't believe everything you read on the internet," he tells the prospective customer. "Otherwise I'd be a Nigerian millionaire by now."
The Nigerian federal government reacted angrily to the ad campaign, which pokes fun at Nigeria's reputation as the epicentre of so-called "419 fraud", in which web users receive an unsolicited email from someone purporting to be a Nigerian prince, businessman or senior politician, who will pay the web user hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for an upfront fee and their bank details.
"Nigeria demands an unconditional apology from Sony Corporation for this deliberate negative campaign against the country’s image and reputation," said the Nigerian government in a statement. "The government sees this as an attempt by Sony Corporation to undermine Nigeria's business interest around the world. This insinuation is in bad faith and unacceptable. The government and the good people of Nigeria reject this unwarranted attack on the reputation and image of the country.
"The apology must be given the same measure of publicity by Sony Corporation in all channels where the unfortunate adverts were aired."
Sony has apologised for any offence caused by the advert, which it said was not intended for broadcast outside the United States.
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