The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned outdoor poster ads for Lee Cronin’s The Mummy and ruled that the image on the poster – which resembled a dead child – was in breach of its code.
The film was released by Warner Bros in UK-Ireland on April 17, with the ruling published on August 5.
The poster’s placements included the London Underground, although distributor Warner Bros said the ads were not positioned within 100m of any schools. The ASA received 28 complaints about the posters.
The 18-rated reimagining of the horror franchise grossed £2.3m at the UK-Ireland box office and follows a family living in New Mexico whose daughter returns eight years after disappearing in the desert.
The ASA ruling stated: “We considered that the grey and ashen appearance of the skin, the dry and cracked lips and mouth, one eye swollen shut and the other fixed and vacant, together with the sunken and lifeless appearance of the face, gave a realistic impression of a dead child…
”We acknowledged that Warner Bros said that the ads were not placed within 100 metres of any schools. However, we understood that the ad was visible from a children’s nursery.
“In any case, we considered the image was likely to distress young children, and that it was unsuitable for display where it was likely to be seen by them. We therefore concluded that the ads were unsuitable for outdoor display and therefore breached the Code.”
Two complaints about TV and streaming adverts relating to Lee Cronin’s The Mummy were not upheld, however. The complaints stated the advert should not be broadcast during times when children were likely to be watching, and challenged whether the scheduling restriction (of post-7.30pm) was sufficient.
The ASA rejected a complant that the posters trivialised child loss or ongoing global conflicts, stating that there was sufficient context that the poster was advertising a film.
Screen has reached out to Warner Bros for comment.
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