ASA Adjudication on Universal Pictures International UK & Eire Ltd

Ad

Two posters for the film "Wanted".

a. One poster showed the profile of the actress Angelina Jolie. She was crouched with her elbow resting on her knee and was holding a gun pointing upwards. In the background the actor James McAvoy held a gun in each hand, pointing towards the reader.

b. Another poster was headlined "6 WEEKS AGO I WAS JUST LIKE YOU …" and stated "AND THEN I MET HER … AND MY WORLD WAS CHANGED FOREVER". It showed several images, of various sizes, of Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy and one of the actor Morgan Freeman.

Text stated "AN ORDINARY NOBODY, COASTING THROUGH A MISERABLE EXISTENCE". One image of Angelina Jolie showed her laid across the bonnet of a car on her back. She was facing the reader and holding a gun, which pointed in the opposite direction. Text stated "WE DROVE THROUGH THE NIGHT AT BREATHTAKING SPEED, DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN OUR PATH … WELCOME TO THE FRATERNITY. WE ARE A TEAM OF ASSASSINS, THE WEAPONS OF FATE. KILL ONE, SAVE A THOUSAND'".

A final caption next to an image of Angelina Jolie stated "'ONLY A FEW PEOPLE IN THE WORLD HAVE OUR ABILITIES, YOU ARE ONE OF THEM. WE WILL TRAIN YOU TO LET YOUR INSTINCTS GUIDE YOU. THIS IS YOUR DESTINY, JOIN US'". She was facing the viewer and firing a gun. The bullet curved towards the audience and was engraved with "GOODBYE".

Issue

1. Seventeen complainants objected that the ads were irresponsible because they glorified and glamorised gun crime.  They felt the ads condoned or were likely to provoke violence or antisocial behaviour.

2. Of those complainants, seven also objected that the posters were unsuitable to be seen by children, and

3. Seven of the complainants believed the ads were offensive at a time of increasing public concern about gun crime, particularly when seen in those areas most affected.

CAP Code (Edition 11)

Response

1. Universal Pictures (UK) Ltd (Universal Pictures) said the film was based on a comic book of the same name.  They stated that the style of ad (b) reflected the films comic book roots and told the story of a mans journey from office geek to action guy.  They said ad (a) used stylised poses and both ads featured prominently the films title and the lead actors names.

Universal Pictures provided examples of other ads they believed to be more graphic and less stylised than their posters.  They said they always worked closely with media owners and relied on their knowledge of what was suitable and, because no media owners had expressed concern and because they had seen previous ads with a similar theme, they understood there was no cause for concern.

2. Universal Pictures said they were diligent in preparing campaigns and ran ad (a) with a restriction, which meant that it would not appear near to schools or other areas of sensitivity.  They stated that ad (b) appeared in the London Underground and when they consulted the poster site contractor no concerns were raised.  They believed the Underground was an environment that did not have a high proportion of children.  They also pointed out that those advertisers who had to ensure that a high percentage of their audience was over 18 years of age advertised on the London Underground.

They said they had done all they could, particularly with regard to children, to take into account any potential adverse effects of featuring guns while fulfilling their objective of communicating the films theme to members of the public.       

3. Universal Pictures stated that they were aware that the current climate was sensitive and believed the text and images were relevant to the advertised film and communicated the themes without causing serious or widespread offence.

They stated that the ads were no longer appearing and they had no plans for their future use.

Assessment

1. Upheld

The ASA noted the posters were intended to communicate the theme of the film, which was based on a comic book story about assassins.

We noted Angelina Jolie, an actress generally recognised as being glamorous, featured in both ads and in ad (a) the gun she held featured prominently.  We noted James McAvoy's character appeared in an action pose in ad (a) and the guns he held were pointed towards the reader; and that several guns were depicted in ad (b).

We noted one of the guns in ad (b) had recently fired, a moving bullet was shown and the ad featured other images related to the use of guns, including a bullet sprayed target; furthermore, Angelina Jolie was shown, holding a gun, in a pose that may be considered provocative.  We noted the prominent text used in ad (b), "6 WEEKS AGO, I WAS JUST LIKE YOU ... AND THEN I MET HER ... AND MY WORLD WAS CHANGED FOREVER", in conjunction with some of the smaller text, suggested James McAvoy's character's life had changed for the better since he had become an assassin.

We acknowledged most viewers would understand the posters reflected the content of an action film.  However, we considered, that because the ads featured a glamorous actress, action poses, several images of or related to guns and aspirational text, they could be seen to glamorise the use of guns and violence.  We concluded ads (a) and (b) could be seen to condone violence by glorifying or glamorising the use of guns.

On this point, the ads breached CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Social responsibility), 5.1 (Offence), 5.2 (Public Sensitivity) and 11.1 (Violence and anti-social behaviour).

2. Upheld

The ASA noted Universal Pictures had run the outdoor poster with a restriction and had considered the composition of the audience on the London Underground.  We considered however, because they appeared in public places, this restriction would not prevent children from seeing the ads.  We concluded that the ads were not suitable to be seen by children because they could be seen to condone violence by glorifying or glamorising the use of guns.

On this point, the ads breached CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Social responsibility), 5.1 (Offence), 5.2 (Public Sensitivity) and 11.1 (Violence and anti-social behaviour).

3. Not upheld

The ASA acknowledged that gun crime was a source of public concern and had caused distress to local communities.  However, we considered most members of the public would understand that the posters reflected the content of an action film.  We therefore concluded they were unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence.

On this point, we investigated the ads under CAP Code clauses 5.1 (Offence) and 5.2 (Public sensitivity) but did not find them in breach.

Action

The ads must not appear again in their current form.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)