'The Mummy' posters banned from London Underground over 'distressing' imagery

Advertising posters for Lee Cronin's horror film The Mummy have been banned from the London Underground after the UK's advertising watchdog ruled that their graphic imagery was likely to cause "serious and widespread distress" to the public.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld complaints from commuters and parents who argued that the posters, displayed across Tube stations, were unsuitable for public spaces frequented by children. The campaign featured a close-up image of a mummified child with decaying skin and haunting eyes, prompting concerns that it was excessively frightening.

Following the ruling, the ASA ordered Warner Bros. not to display the adverts again in their current form. The regulator concluded that, although horror films are expected to use frightening imagery in their marketing, these particular posters went beyond what was acceptable for untargeted public advertising because they could not easily be avoided by commuters.

The controversy began after broadcaster Samira Ahmed and other parents publicly criticised the campaign, saying the posters had frightened young children travelling on the Underground. Their complaints sparked a wider debate over whether graphic horror marketing belongs in public transport networks used by families every day.

Directed by Evil Dead Rise filmmaker Lee Cronin, The Mummy is a reimagining of the classic monster story and has become one of this year's biggest horror hits. While the film has earned praise from genre fans, its promotional campaign has now become almost as talked about as the movie itself after the unprecedented decision to remove its adverts from London's transport network.