Watchdog bans Halloween advert because it was ‘likely to distress’ children
The advertising watchdog has banned an advert for Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s Halloween event after it ruled it was “likely to distress” children.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld 26 complaints about the poster, which showed a pale face, with yellow eyes and bloodied teeth, and the text “Journey to Hell Freak Nights”.
It said the complainants believed it was “inappropriate and disturbing” and for those reasons the ASA said: “We considered that the poster was unsuitable for display in an untargeted medium where it was likely to be seen by young children. We concluded that the ad breached the Code.”
“We considered that the image was likely to distress young children, particularly, but not only in combination with the text.”
Blackpool Pleasure Beach said it would follow the ASA’s recommendations.
The ASA said when asked about the advert, Blackpool Pleasure Beach said it “was not targeted at children and due to the location, any children seeing it would have been accompanied by an adult and any viewing… would have been brief”.
“They explained that the ad was shown at Halloween… at a time when similar images and themes were displayed in public and was no more likely to cause fear and distress than any other examples,” the ASA said.
It added that the tourist attraction believed the number of complaints received was “small for an image that would have been seen by thousands” and there had been “no intent to cause fear or distress”.
In the ruling, the ASA also rejected 10 complaints that the advert would also be “disturbing for adults”.
Blackpool Pleasure Beach said it acknowledged the ASA’s ruling “and will follow their recommendations in the future”.