Film posters for The Mummy banned from public display in the UK

Film posters for The Mummy have been banned from outdoor public display in the UK because they include realistic depictions of a dead child.

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 30 complaints over the promotional campaign in London tube stations for the new Lee Cronin film.

The adverts included a poster showing a closeup image of a female with a mummified appearance and one eye swollen shut. The text said: “Some things are meant to stay buried.”

TV and livestreaming services trailed scenes of a body being removed from a sarcophagus and a woman looking distressed as a greying hand with long brittle nails brushed her cheek. The advert, which ended with the mother saying “I just want my daughter back”, was approved by the Clearcast vetting agency for post-7.30pm broadcasts.

Warner Bros insisted the promotional campaign for The Mummy was not designed to create fear or offence. Photograph: ASA/PA

Many of the complainants said the ads were distressing for children and adults alike.

Warner Bros defended the campaign, saying it had been prepared with “due responsibility to consumers and society” and was not designed to create fear or offence.

It said the character depicted in the posters was a “living mummy” who was returned to her parents many years after been kidnapped as a child.

Warner said the posters used a face with a neutral expression and reduced the risk of distress by avoiding elements of violence, threat or intimidation.

The studio added that the design had been submitted to Transport for London’s advertising partner, Global, and had been accepted for display on the London Underground network.

It said the horror themes in the trailer were implied rather than shown explicitly and contained no “jump scares, no violence or gore” and no graphic imagery.

Upholding complaints about the posters, the ASA said the grey and ashen appearance of the female’s skin, the dry and cracked lips and mouth, one eye swollen shut and the other fixed and vacant, together with the sunken and lifeless appearance of the face, gave a “realistic impression of a dead child”.

It said that while the ads were not placed within 100 metres of any schools, one billboard was visible from a children’s nursery.

The watchdog said: “In any case, 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.”