ASA Ruling on National Theatre of Scotland in association with Dundee Rep Theatre
Dundee Rep Theatre
Tay Square
Dundee
DD1 1PB
National Theatre of Scotland
Civic House
26 Civic Street
Glasgow
G4 9RH
Date:
23 October 2013
Media:
Poster, Leaflet
Sector:
Leisure
Number of complaints:
1
Complaint Ref:
A13-232930
Background
Summary of Council decision:
Two issues were investigated, both of which were Not upheld.
Ad
A poster, a bus poster and a leaflet for the Dundee Rep Theatre:
a. The poster featured a large picture of the head and shoulders of a young child with vampire fangs, bloodshot eyes and with blood running from her eyes, nose and mouth. Text stated "NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND ... LET THE RIGHT ONE IN". Underneath text stated the dates of the production run and box office details.
b The poster on buses featured a cropped image of the child's head showing blood running from her eyes and nose. Text stated "NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND ... LET THE RIGHT ONE IN" and included information about the production run.
c. The leaflet cover featured a close up of the girl's bloodshot eye and nose with blood running from both. Text stated "NATIONAL THEATRE OF SCOTLAND ... LET THE RIGHT ONE IN". The inside pages included the picture used on poster (a) and a close up picture of the girl's left eye, with blood running from it. Text gave details of the play and production details.
Issue
A complainant challenged whether:
1. posters (a) and (b) were unsuitable for public display where they could be seen by children; and
2. leaflet (c), which was available in a number of public locations, was unsuitable for display where it could be seen by children.
CAP Code (Edition 12)
Response
1. & 2.
The National Theatre of Scotland (NTS) provided a joint response with the Dundee Rep Theatre (DRT) to the complaint.
NTS explained that the play Let the Right One In, was based on a Swedish romantic horror film, which told the story of a bullied 12-year-old boy's friendship with a vampire child. They said in marketing the production the aim was to attract young people who would not typically choose to attend the theatre, schools and young people with an interest in the popular vogue for vampire narratives, as well as existing theatregoers. They believed it was essential that marketing communications for the play made clear that the central character was a vampire child and the production was suitable and attractive to younger audiences.
NTS explained that they normally preferred to use images from the production in their publicity, but because this was a new work and the marketing material had been produced sometime in advance of casting and rehearsals, that was not possible. The image used on the posters (a) and (b) and the leaflet (c) was based on a pivotal moment in the play, when the vampire child cried tears of blood having been turned away by her friend. In creating the image, the NTS were aware that the production was aimed at those aged 15 years and older and were careful to ensure that the girl in the picture showed no signs of anxiety or distress, but was seen with an impassive expression. The fangs were used as a visual short-cut to make the theme of vampires clear to the viewer and that the child was 'unreal'. NTS said the use of blood was another visual stereotype of vampirism and without the blood and fangs, it would have been difficult to convey the subject matter of the photograph and the play. They acknowledged that the image was bold and challenging, but believed that it was not inappropriate for either the nature of the production or for anyone seeing the marketing, irrespective of age, and was not gratuitous as it reflected a key moment of the play.
NTS said reaction to the advertising had been positive with a number of people requesting copies of the poster. They also believed that the approach had been successful, with data showing a considerably younger audience than usual for the play. In addition over 20 school, community and youth theatre groups saw the production.
NTS said they received one complaint about the image upsetting a young child. They apologised to the complainant, but had no evidence that the child's reaction was shared by others.
CBS Outdoor said they looked carefully at the image and researched the play itself, but considered that the image was a genuine representation of the production and was not an attempt to sensationalise the play or to cause controversy. They said they had not received any other complaints about the posters.
Assessment
1. & 2. Not upheld
The ASA understood that the image of the child in posters (a) and (b) was central to the play and had been used to convey the nature of the production. We also understood the reasons why the image might appeal to some older children, given the plethora of vampire TV programmes, films and books popular with that age group.
We acknowledged that some younger children might not understand the images, but we considered that the posters, although undoubtedly striking, were not particularly frightening or disturbing. We considered the posters (a) and (b) were unlikely to cause harm or distress to children and concluded that they were suitable for outdoor display.
We noted the image on the front of the leaflet (c), which was available in a number of different venues, was a close up of the child's bloodshot eye and nose with blood running from both. Although visually striking, we considered that the picture was less arresting than the larger and full image in poster (a) and the cropped image in poster (b) and was likely to gain even less attention from children. We considered that, although some children might see or pick it up, the leaflet was unlikely to be particularly appealing to them as to encourage them to pick it up or to hold sufficient interest for them to inspect it in detail.
We considered that the leaflet was unlikely to cause harm or distress to children and concluded that it did not breach the Code.
We investigated posters (a) and (b) and the leaflet (c) under CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 4.2 (Harm and offence) and 5.1 (Children harm), but did not find them in breach.
Action
No further action necessary.
