The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has taken a firm stand regarding the promotional materials for the horror film The Mummy, ruling that the posters used in the London Underground are simply too graphic for public spaces where children might be present. At the heart of the controversy is a close-up image of a female character, captured with a swollen, shut eye, an open mouth, and hauntingly grey, weathered skin. For many commuters, seeing such an unsettling visage while waiting for a train proved to be a bridge too far. The sheer realism of the imagery, coupled with the ominous tagline, “Some things are meant to stay buried,” sparked enough public discomfort to trigger formal complaints from thirty concerned individuals.
When the complaints began to pour in, the ASA conducted a thorough review of the materials. Their findings were quite clear: the aesthetic choices made by the film’s marketing team created an all-too-convincing impression of a deceased child. With its vacant, lifeless stare and features suggesting physical decay, the regulator determined that the image was not merely “creepy” in a cinematic sense, but genuinely distressing for young, impressionable minds. Consequently, the watchdog concluded that the campaign had breached the advertising code, necessitating a ban on the posters being displayed in any environment where they could be seen by children.
Warner Bros, the studio behind the film, attempted to defend their marketing strategy by clarifying the context of the character. They argued that the figure was not actually a dead child, but rather a “living mummy” who had been kidnapped at a young age and transformed. The studio insisted that the character’s expression was meant to be neutral rather than aggressive, and they maintained that they had purposefully steered clear of any overt depictions of gore or violence. Despite these arguments, the regulator remained unmoved, emphasizing that the perception of the image—regardless of the fictional backstory—was the primary concern for public safety and emotional well-being.
This situation highlights the delicate, often contentious balance between creative freedom in the film industry and the protection of the public sphere. Horror films rely heavily on visual shock to build anticipation, but when that marketing spills into everyday communal spaces like the Underground, the expectations of the audience change. While film fans might understand the narrative intent, a child catching a glimpse of a grey-skinned, hollow-eyed face while on their way to school experiences that image entirely without context. The ASA’s decision serves as a reminder that public advertising requires a higher level of social responsibility, acknowledging that the “captive audience” of a subway station includes many who never signed up to be part of a horror movie experience.
The Mummy poster wasn’t the only campaign under the microscope recently; the watchdog also fielded twenty complaints regarding another horror film, They Will Kill You. In that instance, members of the public expressed concern that the posters were glamorizing knife crime and violence. Interestingly, the ASA chose not to uphold those specific complaints, drawing a clear line between the “realistic distress” caused by the physical appearance of the character in The Mummy and the more abstract, albeit gritty, themes of the other campaign. This distinction shows that the regulator is looking specifically at the psychological impact of visceral, life-like imagery rather than just the genre of the film itself.
Ultimately, this saga serves as a lesson for major studios in the importance of calibrating their marketing to match the environment. While the desire to generate buzz and “scare” potential viewers is the cornerstone of horror promotion, that strategy has its limits. By enforcing this ban, the ASA has effectively signaled that while studios are free to push boundaries in cinemas, they cannot force those boundaries onto the general public. For now, the posters have been pulled, leaving the London Underground a little less unsettling for the younger commuters passing through, and leaving filmmakers to find more nuanced ways to pique our interest without causing genuine alarm.
