Seventeen people complained the posters glorified and glamourised gun crime.

Seventeen people complained the posters glorified and glamourised gun crime.One of the posters - which showed Jolie clutching a gun directed upwards and McAvoy holding a gun in each hand, pointing towards the viewer - was used with restrictions preventing it from appearing near schools, the company told the ASA.


Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received a series of complaints about two posters for Wanted - an action film which was released in Britain this summer.Seventeen people complained the posters glorified and glamourised gun crime.
Of those complainants, seven also objected on the grounds that the posters were unsuitable to be seen by children - and the ASA agreed on both counts.
In a ruling, it said: "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 glamourise the use of guns and violence."Universal Pictures UK told the authority the posters featuring just Jolie and McAvoy used stylised poses and, as the film was based on a comic book, the style of the posters reflected the film's roots.They added that none of the media owners they worked with had expressed concern about the two posters.However, the advertisements were no longer being used and there were no plans to use them again in the future, the company said.Another seven of the complainants further objected to the posters as offensive at a time of increasing public concern about gun crime. This was not upheld by the ASA.

Posted in: Universal Pictures UK