The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned posters for the horror film Lee Cronin's The Mummy from appearing anywhere children might see them, including on London's public transport, following 30 complaints about their distressing content. The ruling, published on 5 August 2026, specifically targets an outdoor billboard and a poster on the London Underground that showed a close-up of a woman with a mummified appearance, one eye swollen shut, and covered in brown material. The ASA concluded that the image gave a realistic impression of a dead child and was unsuitable for display in untargeted public spaces.
Complaints and Context
The complaints were lodged against ads for the film, which included the tagline: "Some things are meant to stay buried. Lee Cronin's The Mummy." The poster in question depicted a figure with grey, ashen skin, dry and cracked lips, a swollen eye, and a vacant stare, which the ASA said resembled a deceased child. Additionally, TV and streaming ads showed fleeting scenes of a body being removed from a sarcophagus and a distressed woman as a greying hand brushed her cheek, ending with the line: "I just want my daughter back."
Warner Bros, the film's distributor, argued that the posters were prepared with "due responsibility to consumers and society" and were not designed to create fear or distress. They explained that the character was a "living mummy" who had been kidnapped as a child and returned to her parents as a teenager, and that the poster's neutral expression avoided elements of violence or threat. The company also noted that the posters had been accepted for display by TfL's advertising partner, Global, and that the trailer contained no jump scares, violence, or gore.
ASA Ruling on Posters
Despite these defenses, the ASA upheld the complaints about the posters, stating: "Because the figure had recognisable human features, we considered that viewers were likely to understand it as a realistic depiction of a dead child." The authority highlighted that the posters on the London Underground and outdoor billboards had the potential to be seen by a large number of people, including children. It also noted that while Warner Bros claimed the ads were not placed within 100 metres of any schools, the ad was visible from a children's nursery, which the ASA considered unacceptable.
The ASA concluded: "We acknowledged that Warner Bros said that the ads were not placed within 100 metres of any schools. However, we understood that the ad was visible from a children's nursery. In any case, we considered the image was likely to distress young children and that it was unsuitable for display where it was likely to be seen by them. We therefore concluded that the ads were unsuitable for outdoor display and therefore breached the code."
Separate Ruling on 'They Will Kill You'
In a separate decision, the ASA did not uphold complaints about a TV ad and two posters for another Warner Bros film, They Will Kill You. Some 20 complainants argued that these ads glamorised violence and knife crime, were likely to distress viewers, and were unsuitable for untargeted public spaces. However, the ASA found the imagery was highly stylised and clearly reflected the fictional, action-horror nature of the film. It also concluded that the post-7.30pm scheduling restriction for the TV ad was sufficient to reduce the likelihood of young children seeing it.
Impact and Industry Response
The ban on The Mummy posters marks a significant enforcement of advertising standards in the UK, particularly regarding the depiction of children in horror film marketing. The ASA's decision underscores the importance of considering the potential distress to children in public spaces, even when ads are not targeted at them. Warner Bros has not yet commented publicly on the ruling, but the decision is likely to influence how future horror films are marketed on public transport and outdoor media.
