Credit where it’s due: the CEO of iOS game developer Monkeybin Studios has publicly apologized for a marketing foul-up that left a foul taste in some reviewer’s mouths.

The company recently released a side-scrolling shooter called Jumpship Thrust Control 2. In an attempt to drum up publicity for the new release, Monkeybin apparently contracted a third-party marketing firm to do some PR. This is where things went off the rails, according to the explanation posted by Monkeybin CEO Haakon Langaas Lageng.

They outsourced the job to a private marketing contractor, who proceeded over the next week or so to contact game review sites, requesting reviews of the newly released game. He attached 2 sample reviews to the emails and requested that, if the reviewer was pushed for time, they could copy and paste snippets from the email into their review.

This, of course, is a no-no for any ethically-minded game reviewer. “Copying and pasting snippets” is not only tantamount to plagiarism, but it also lets the marketing person direct the review.

Monkeybin was rightfully excoriated for this behavior, and now the company is attempting damage control by explaining that the marketing was done without their direct supervision, said according to Langeng.

“As the CEO of Monkeybin, this is, of course, completely my responsibility. Unfortunately, what was happening slipped my attention until yesterday.”