The Mummy's Posters Banned

A horror movie poster crossed the legal line of scaring the audience.

The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled on complaints regarding posters created for Lee Cronin's The Mummy, which were used in various outdoor advertising spaces, including the London Underground. The authority decided that the controversial design should not be republished in the complained form.

30 Complaints Filed About the Poster

A total of 30 complaints were received by the ASA regarding the campaign. Of these, 28 objected to the display of the posters in public areas where targeting was not conducted, such as metro stations and billboards.

The design featured a young woman wrapped in fabrics bearing ancient symbols, with one eye swollen shut and her face appearing mummified. One of the posters was used in the London Underground, while another billboard was found to be visible from a children's nursery.

ASA Compared the Image to a “Dead Child” Depiction

The board's decision highlighted the character's gray and pale skin, dry lips, vacant stare, and sunken facial features.

According to the ASA, these details, combined with the fabric resembling a shroud around the head, created a realistic impression of a “dead child.” The clear recognition of the human face also contributed to the image being likened more to a real body than a fantastic and distant monster.

The authority took into account the statement that the posters were not placed within 100 meters of schools but concluded that this was insufficient. The presence of the advertisements in areas visible to everyone, including children, became the main reason for the ban.

Warner Bros.: That Character Is Not Dead

Warner Bros. argued that the character seen in the poster is not a dead child.

According to the studio's statement, the character is a “living mummy” who returns to her family as a young woman years after being kidnapped as a child. It was noted that her face has a neutral expression, her open blue eye suggests life, and there are no images of violence, blood, threats, or coffins in the poster.

Warner Bros. also stated that the design was previously approved by the organization managing the advertising spaces in the London Underground and that specific instructions were given to avoid placing horror movie posters near schools.

However, the ASA concluded that the character's being alive in the film's story did not change the image that a child looking at the poster from the outside would see.

Not All Advertisements for the Film Were Banned

The decision was made only for the controversial outdoor posters. The promotions for The Mummy shown on television and Prime Video were not included in the ban.

The television advertisement was required to air after 7:30 PM, while the ad on Prime Video was limited by time and targeting adult viewers. The ASA decided that these measures sufficiently reduced the likelihood of young children encountering the advertisements.

The authority also rejected claims that the posters trivialized child loss or exploited sensitivities related to ongoing wars. While the image may be shocking and disturbing to some, it was stated that the clear display of the film's title on the poster indicated that it was a horror movie advertisement.

The Success of the Horror Poster Became a Problem

The promotion for The Mummy utilized one of the oldest marketing techniques for horror films: embedding the film's tone in the audience's mind with a single disturbing image.

However, the poster was used not in a cinema, horror magazine, or a digital ad targeted at adults; it was displayed in metro stations and outdoor billboards where children had no chance to avoid seeing it. The point where the ASA drew the line was not so much the image's scariness but its uncontrolled visibility.

As a result, the poster created the intended effect for a horror film: it disturbed people. However, it was decided that it did so in the wrong place.