Angelina Jolie Movie Posters Banned

Wed, 03 September 2008 03:03:21 ET

Billboard posters for Angelina Jolie's latest action film "Wanted" have reportedly been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for glamorizing the use of guns.

Posters for Angelina Jolie's latest action movie "Wanted (2008)" have reportedly been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for glamorizing gun violence. The billboard ads for the film featured the 33-year-old beauty and her co-star James McAvoy holding guns in several positions in a comic book-style montage of pictures.

According to reports, the Advertising Standards Authority had received 17 complaints about the posters from the public. They said the ads were unsuitable to be seen by children. "We have seen a proliferation of complaints from the public about advertising which is seen to condone gun or knife crime. We are responding to the level of consumer concern," an ASA spokesman said.

In one ad, Angelina was featured lying on her back across the bonnet of a car. She holds a gun next to the text, "We drove through the night at breathtaking speed, destroying everything in our path ... welcome to the fraternity. We are a team of assassins, the weapons of fate. Kill one, save a thousand."

Universal Pictures, the studio responsible for the action film, explained the style of the advert reflected the film's comic book roots and the story of a man's journey from an office geek to action guy. The Hollywood studio also said "the posters had not appeared near schools or other areas frequented by children."

However, the ASA said in a statement, "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 glamorise the use of guns and violence." "We concluded (the) ads ... could be seen to condone violence by glorifying or glamorising the use of guns," said the regulator.

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