The U.K. Advertising Standards Authority issued a ruling on whether promotional materials for “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy,” a Warner Bros Entertainment U.K. Ltd. cinema release, complied with advertising standards. The regulator received 30 complaints about the campaign, which ran in April, with many complainants expressing concerns about distressing imagery affecting both children and adults.
The ASA investigated four separate issues related to the advertising campaign and upheld one complaint regarding outdoor poster advertisements. The posters, which appeared on the London Underground and at various outdoor locations, featured a close-up image of a mummified female figure with grey, ashen skin, cracked lips, and one eye swollen shut. The figure was wrapped in material resembling a shroud and marked with hieroglyphic-style symbols. The regulator determined that these visual elements combined to create an impression of a deceased child, and the untargeted placement of the ads—including at a location visible from a children’s nursery—meant they were likely to cause distress to young viewers. The ASA found the posters breached CAP Code rules and ordered they must not appear in their current form, directing the studio to keep future horror-related marketing away from locations where children would encounter it.
Warner Bros. had defended the creative choices, arguing that the neutral expression of the figure, the visibility of one eye, and the absence of a sarcophagus or restraints were deliberate design decisions intended to reduce distress. The studio also noted its existing outdoor buying policy of maintaining a 100-meter distance from schools, though this standard does not apply to nurseries.
The ASA rejected separate complaints that the posters trivialized child loss or ongoing global conflicts, determining that the text identifying the ads as film promotion provided sufficient context. The regulator also cleared both television and streaming advertisements from the campaign, which depicted a family receiving a call about a missing daughter discovered in a 3,000-year-old sarcophagus. These spots included post-7:30 p.m. scheduling restrictions and were determined unlikely to cause serious distress, with viewership data indicating minimal child audience exposure. No additional action was required for the broadcast and digital advertisements.
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