Lions Gate UK Ltd Ariel House 74a Charlotte Street London W1T 4QJ Number of complaints: 6

Date: 17 December 2008 Media: Poster, Regional press Sector: Leisure Agency: All City

Ad
A regional press ad and a poster on the London Underground, for the film 'Righteous Kill', showed actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino walking together against a backdrop of the New York skyline, with a police badge in the corner.  Text stated "THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH A LITTLE SHOOTING AS LONG AS THE RIGHT PEOPLE GET SHOT".

Issue
1. Five members of the public believed that the text in the poster was irresponsible because it glamorised violence and gun crime by suggesting it was morally acceptable to kill in the right circumstances.

2. One reader believed that the text in the newspaper ad was irresponsible because it glamorised violence at a time of concern about the problem of gun and knife crime.

3. The ASA challenged whether the siting of the poster at Stockwell tube station was likely to cause serious or widespread offence at the time of the inquest into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at that station.

The CAP Code:

2.2;5.1;11.1;5.2

Response
1. & 2. Lions Gate said the film was rated a 15 certificate by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) with a target audience of males aged 25 to 44 years.  They said the text "Theres nothing wrong with a little shooting as long as the right people get shot" was a line of dialogue from the film.  They believed it was the kind of dialogue expected from a film or TV portrayal of the NYPD and contained an element of humour.  They said there had been no intention to offend or to glamorise violence or to suggest it was morally acceptable to kill people.

CBS Outdoor (CBS), on behalf of London Transport, said the CBS approval team judged the poster to have met their conditions governing copy approval.

The Metro believed the ad was suitable for their readers, who they said were young, intelligent, professional, full-time workers in major British cities.  They did not believe their readers would have misunderstood or been offended by the ad.  They said they received no direct complaints.     

3. Lions Gate said the posters were part of a general distribution campaign on the London Underground, but specific tube sites were not selected.  They said it was an unfortunate oversight that the poster was sited at Stockwell station and the poster was immediately removed when they became aware of the Menezes inquest.

CBS said they were unaware that there was to be an inquest into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes when they approved the poster.  They said they received one complaint from a member of the public about the poster sited at Stockwell and the next day received a direct instruction from London Transport to remove the entire campaign as quickly as possible and immediate removal at Stockwell station, although, at that stage, the campaign had already finished.  CBS said the removal of the poster from Stockwell station was completed within 48 hours of them receiving the instruction from London Transport.  They said, although in hindsight the poster might be considered problematic when linked with the de Menezes case, the poster met the general requirements CBS judged copy by.

Assessment
1. & 2. Not upheld
The ASA acknowledged public concern about gun crime but noted the poster and press ad did not contain any depiction of violence or guns.  We considered that most people were likely to understand that the poster reflected the content of the film and the quote, in keeping with the style of the film, was intended to be wryly humorous.  We considered that the poster and press ad were unlikely to be seen as irresponsible or to glamorise or glorify gun crime.

On these points, we investigated the poster and press ad under CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Social responsibility), 5.1 and 5.2 (Decency) and 11.1 (Violence and anti-social behaviour) but did not find them in breach.  

3. Upheld
We acknowledged that it was unfortunate that the poster was sited at Stockwell underground station at the time of the de Menezes inquest and welcomed the action taken by Lions Gate and CBS to remove the poster from the station as quickly as possible.  We understood the siting of the poster at the station was unintentional but nevertheless considered that the text "THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH A LITTLE SHOOTING AS LONG AS THE RIGHT PEOPLE GET SHOT" on a poster had the potential to cause serious offence in that location.  

On this point, the poster breached CAP Code clauses 2.2 (Social responsibility) and 5.1 and 5.2 (Decency).

Action
No further action required.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Non-broadcast)