Final Destination 5 poster banned in the UK!
 

The poster campaign for the DVD release of horror movie Final Destination 5 has been banned in the U.K. by the Advertising Standards Authority for upsetting children, reports THR.


The ad watchdog ruled that the poster, which shows a skull being shattered by steel rods driven through its mouth and eye sockets, must not appear again in its current form after upholding a slew of complaints from adults with upset children.

The Warner Bros. release has been advertised by the imagery on posters on the side of buses and on billboards on the London Underground tube network. The campaign ran in August this year ahead of its August 26 rollout and the ASA received 13 complaints that the poster was distressing and unsuitable for children to see.

Three people who complained claimed that their young children had become visibly upset when they saw the ad on a bus.

ASA said in its ruling that it "considered the image was likely to catch the attention of children, especially because it was shown on a poster on the Underground, where it was an un-targeted medium."

Because very young children might view the ad depicting violence, "it was likely to cause fear and undue distress to children," ASA said.

Warner Bros. argued that the skull was a “fantasy image” and the poster "accurately reflected the content of the film in an appropriate manner without causing excessive fear or distress."

Despite WB’s protestations, ASA said the ad must not appear again in its original form. The ban won't affect box office as it is after the theatrical rollout.

Damn it seems like the UK is going through another period of uber-conservatism.

13 complaints is all it takes to get something banned? WTF is up with that?

That's pretty sad. I fully expect more fun and games from this watchdog group.:rolleyes:

For those who don't know this is the same ridiculous "authority" that banned a Delia Smith (a famous in the UK professional cook) recipe ad as people complained because she didn't mention you had to cook after preparing the meal... in fact I think that ad got less complaints than this but was still banned. They act randomly just to justify their own existence its pathetic.

Oh, I thought some kids did that to each other...:D

Anyway, is there any chance that may be the whole damn thing is a part of some crazy promotional campaign?

I've seen way worse posters than this.

Why are people so sensitive these days???

It's all a storm in a tea cup.

That skull wouldn't scare me if I was a kid. In fact I grew up on horror, with the likes of Peter Cushing and Sir Christopher Lee. They were always making movies with skulls in them.

I was 5 years old when I watched my first horror. A skull isn't even frightening.:p