The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered the removal of a digital poster for the action film Predator: Badlands, deeming its graphic imagery, including a "severed spine", unsuitable for public display.
The advert featured an alien character that, according to the ASA, "resembled a human", holding a smaller person. This figure had been severed in two, with its bottom half missing and spine exposed. The alien was later depicted holding a sword, while a disc-like weapon was also visible, moving towards the viewer.
The accompanying phrase, "welcome to a world of hurt", was prominently displayed. The poster culminated in a cartoon-style image featuring what the ASA identified as "the torso of a woman" with "wires protruding from her bottom half".
The Walt Disney Company, which distributes and markets the 20th Century Studios film, had argued the severed character was not a human and was instead a robot, which was "visually distinct from a human".
It claimed the fact that the robot only had half a body, "emphasised its non-human nature" and appeared for less than two seconds in the advert, which it said it had designed for a 12A audience, which matches the certification of the film. Disney told the ASA it "did not consider the character or imagery in the ad was likely to cause particular harm or offence, given the film’s rating and the brief, stylised nature of the scene".
However, the ASA said that as the poster was displayed outdoors, it was "likely to be seen by people of all ages" and told Disney and 20th Century Studios that "care needed to be taken" to ensure the poster was suitable for all.
The ASA said in its ruling: "We considered the alien appeared menacing, the scene depicted violence and implied that it had dismembered the smaller figure. Whilst we acknowledged 20th Century Studios’ comment that the smaller figure was not actually a human, but rather a ‘synth’ robot, we considered that was not clear from the ad, and that the figure was likely to be interpreted as a human. We further considered that the realistic depiction of the smaller figure’s severed torso and exposed spine was gory and likely to be disturbing to younger children."
It said that further parts of the advert were also "disturbing and frightening" to children, and said that for those reasons it "considered that the ad was likely to frighten and cause distress to some children, was therefore unsuitable for display" in public. The ASA said the Predator advert breached its code and ordered for it not to appear again in its current form.
The ruling comes after two people complained that the poster was "inappropriate and disturbing" for young children and said it was "unsuitable for outdoor display".
A Disney spokesperson said: “We acknowledge the ASA’s ruling. We take our responsibilities to audiences seriously and strive to work closely with partners to meet required standards.”
Predator: Badlands, which was released in UK cinemas last year and stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Elle Fanning, is the latest in the sci-fi film series, which began with the movie of the same name in 1987, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
