Ad description
A poster, for the cinema release of Black Phone, seen at four bus stops across the UK in June 2022. It featured a headshot image of a person wearing a top hat and glasses with a grey face and grey hair. The person was wearing a grey mask covering the lower half of their face. The mask featured a distorted nose and chin, and had a broad malevolent grin showing lots of teeth.
Text at the top of the ad stated, “FROM BLUMHOUSE AND THE DIRECTOR OF SINISTER AND DOCTOR STRANGE”. Text at the bottom of the ad stated, “THE BLACK PHONE” and “NEVER TALK TO STRANGERS”.
Issue
Three complainants, who believed that the image and text were disturbing to children, challenged whether the ad was unsuitable for outdoor display.Response
Universal Pictures International UK & Eire Ltd said the ad was for a film which was rated 15 by the British Board of Film Classification. They said that out-of-home advertising was required for a successful film marketing campaign, but recognised that it was untargeted and some people might not approve of their ads, especially horror films.
They said in order to convey the theme, genre and storyline of the film, the ad showed a man wearing a mask. They considered that the image was reflective of a film of the genre, and helped to convey that the film was not targeted at families, but was not too extreme, gory or frightening to be placed out-of-home.
They said that to identify an acceptable way to advertise the film, they compared the ad with other horror film ads, specifically those that included the use of a mask/face covering. They provided examples of some of the comparisons and said they concluded that their ad did not go beyond any precedents set by other ads.
They considered the tagline “From Blumhouse and the Director of Sinister and Doctor Strange” to be factual. They said the tagline “Never talk to strangers” was a reference to the abduction storyline, a theme which was not apparent from the ad itself. They considered that this tagline was also a statement for practical advice and did not encourage dangerous behaviour. They did not feel it was unnecessarily scary or distressing, and without understanding the plot, consumers would not infer that talking to strangers would result in an abduction. They provided examples of other horror film taglines which were of a similar nature.
Universal Pictures said they were proactive in seeking Copy Advice and had also sent the ad to the media owners to ensure they were comfortable with the content. The media owner (TFL) had submitted the ad for Copy Advice and nothing had been flagged. Therefore, on that basis they were comfortable that the ad was suitable for general use out of the home.
They said the advertising campaign for the theatrical release of the film had now finished.
JC Decaux said the campaign ran on roadside and rail panels and that the rail copy complied with the rail companies’ guidelines for copy display. The agency that provided the copy, advised that it had been approved by TFL. They said the first campaign did not carry any school proximity prohibitions and all subsequent campaigns carried a prohibition to keep it 100 metres from schools. They said neither JCDecaux nor the agencies had received any complaints.
Clear Channel said that the advertiser was responsible for compliance with all relevant codes and laws of advertising. Therefore it was not for Clear Channel to decide if the campaign was suitable for publication.
They said 665 six-sheet panels were booked to show the ad for a period of two weeks in June. At the time of booking Clear Channel were not advised of the certification of the film. They said they received approximately four separate complaints and in each case the poster was promptly replaced. In Brighton, a request by the local council resulted in all posters being removed prior to the end of the campaign.
Assessment
Not upheld
The ASA acknowledged that the CAP Copy Advice team had given advice on the ad, and their view was that the ad was unlikely to breach the Code.
We noted that the image in the ad included a mask which had distorted facial features that gave it a sinister appearance. However, we considered that it did not contain any overtly bloody, gory, violent or threatening imagery and the tag line “Never talk to strangers” was not distressing in itself.
We acknowledged that the reference to Dr Strange at the top of the ad may have been recognised by children. However, we did not consider that this would affect whether children would be distressed by the ad as it is likely that children would have seen the image before reading the text.
Although we acknowledged that some distress had been caused, we did not consider that the overall impression of the ad was such that it was likely to cause excessive fear or distress. We therefore concluded that it was not unsuitable for outdoor display.
We investigated the ad under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 1.3 1.3 Marketing communications must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to consumers and to society. (responsible advertising) and 4.2 4.2 Marketing communications must not cause fear or distress without justifiable reason; if it can be justified, the fear or distress should not be excessive. Marketers must not use a shocking claim or image merely to attract attention. (Harm and offence), but did not find it in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
