The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned posters for Lee Cronin’s horror film The Mummy from the London Underground and outdoor billboards. Regulators ruled the imagery, which depicts a figure with mummified features, constitutes a realistic depiction of a dead child and is unsuitable for public display.
The ruling follows 30 complaints regarding a promotional campaign that featured close-up imagery of a female figure with sunken features, grey skin, and one eye swollen shut. Accompanying the image was the tagline: Some things are meant to stay buried.
ASA Findings on the “Dead Child” Imagery
The watchdog determined that the combination of the figure’s cracked lips, vacant expression, and ashen skin created a realistic impression of a dead child. Because the figure possessed recognisable human features, the ASA concluded that viewers would likely interpret the image as a depiction of a deceased child.
Because the figure had recognisable human features, we considered that viewers were likely to understand it as a realistic depiction of a dead child. The ASA
Advertising Standards Authority
The regulator specifically highlighted the risk to minors. While Warner Bros confirmed that advertisements were not placed within 100 metres (328ft) of any school, the ASA noted that one billboard was directly visible from a children’s nursery. This proximity led the regulator to conclude the ads were unsuitable for outdoor display and breached the code.
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. The
Warner Bros Defense and the “Living Mummy” Plot
Warner Bros defended the campaign, asserting it was developed with due responsibility to consumers and society and was not intended to cause offense or fear. The distributor argued that the character was not a corpse, but a “living mummy” who had been returned to her parents as a teenager or young adult many years after being kidnapped as a child.
To mitigate distress, the studio claimed the poster utilized a neutral facial expression and avoided any elements of intimidation, threat, or violence. Warner Bros further argued that the trailer for the film, directed by Irish filmmaker Lee Cronin, was designed to imply horror themes rather than show them explicitly, containing no jump scares, no violence or gore, and no graphic imagery.
Furthermore, the company noted that the design had previously been cleared for the London Underground network by Global, the advertising partner for Transport for London.
TV Restrictions and Box Office Performance
The ASA did not extend the ban to television or live streaming advertisements. Those ads featured fleeting scenes of a body being removed from a sarcophagus and ended with a mother saying, I just want my daughter back. The regulator upheld these because Clearcast, which pre-approves TV and streaming ads, had already applied a post-19:30 scheduling restriction, which reduced the likelihood of young children seeing the content.
Photo: Gbnews
The ruling comes four months after the 18-rated film premiered in the UK on April 17. The film has since left British cinemas and is available on streaming services. Despite the controversy, the film grossed over $2.9million (£2.1million) at the British box office, per data from sales tracker Box Office Mojo.
In a separate decision, the ASA rejected approximately 20 complaints regarding posters and television ads for another Warner Bros horror production, They Will Kill You. Complainants alleged that those materials glamorized knife crime and violence, were likely to distress viewers, and that the posters were unsuitable for display in untargeted public spaces.
Photo: BBC
The watchdog disagreed, ruling that the imagery in that specific campaign was highly stylised and clearly reflected the fictional, action-horror nature of the film, contrasting it with the perceived realism that led to the ban of The Mummy posters.
Senior Editor, Entertainment
Marina is a celebrated pop culture columnist and recipient of multiple media awards. She curates engaging stories about film, music, television, and celebrity news, always with a fresh and authoritative voice.
