ASA Adjudication on Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Ltd

Ad

A TV ad, for the DVD release of the horror film Silent Hill, featured brief scenes from the film. These included a woman screaming while trapped behind a wire fence; a woman being splashed with what appeared to be blood; an eyeless man screaming and various mutant, human-like monsters. The final scene was of a woman having her throat cut.

The ad was given a post 9pm restriction by the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC).

Issue

21 viewers complained that the violence, particularly the scene of the woman having her throat cut, was too graphic to be included in a TV ad that had been shown without warning.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Creative Partnership said they had produced many TV ads promoting horror films and DVDs and believed they had a good established knowledge of what was considered suitable for post 9pm.  They said the post 11pm restricted ads they had created in the past were much more graphic in nature than the ad for Silent Hill. They explained that their aim had been to produce an ad that would target their audience whilst keeping in line with BACC and ASA guidelines and restrictions.  They said they had followed BACC advice, which resulted in the ad being given a post 9pm restriction.

Twentieth Century Fox said they were concerned by the complaints because the BACC had advised that the restriction was likely to be sufficient.

The BACC said, based on past experience, they had given the ad a post 9pm restriction, often used for ads with scenes of horror, including blood and gore. They did not think that the ad was so graphic as to warrant a post 11pm restriction.  They said, with issues of taste and offence, they could only judge on what had caused offence in the past and it was not always possible to predict what would cause complaint.  

Assessment

Upheld

The ASA acknowledged that a post 9pm restriction had been applied to the ad because of the adult content.  However, although we noted advertising of a more adult nature could be broadcast after 9pm, we considered that it should not contain material likely to cause offence to viewers generally.  We noted the concerns of those viewers who had complained, and considered that even after 9pm the ad could cause offence to many viewers because of the violent nature of the scene showing a woman having her throat slit.  We concluded that the ad should have been given a timing restriction that limited it to much later in the evening when such material was less likely to cause offence.  We concluded that the ad was unsuitable for broadcast before 11pm.  

The ad breached CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 6.1 (Offence).

Action

If the ad is returned to air it should carry a post 11pm restriction.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)