So as presumably you wouldn't take your preschool age child to see a 15-cert horror film... shouldn't they also be safe being frightened by an image from the film on a massive advert put up in their local street? It's a poster for a violent horror film called 'The Purge'.
The poster is here. ( www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/purge-2013-1) You might not find the grinning skull/mask pic too frightening as a little thumbnail pic but trust me, my husband and I were scared by it when walking past it when blown up to full size on a phone box! Luckily our DD happened to be asleep in the pram at the time. Also the strap line is really scary for kids that are old enough to read: ' for one night, ALL crime is legal'.. or something along those lines.
To me, showing this poster image on the street is valuing the commercial interests of cinemas showing scary films to adults, above the rights of kids (and adults like me who don't watch horror) to use our local streets without being frightened?
That horrible skull mask face is plastered full size all over a phone box on our local main road. its in full view of several bus routes, the ad is in front of residential blocks of flats which line the road, right near our local preschool and en route to the local primary. Lots of kids/people will not be able to avoid seeing it. As it is I will have to take a different route to my local shops to avoid freaking out my kid. I am livid- we have to go out of our way (literally) to avoid this.
I have complained to the Advertising Standards Authority via their website over the weekend, and await their reply. Just feel like ads on phone boxes in particular tend to stay up for months and the harm is being done already. Cant understand whoever passed this one as OK thinking its reasonable in a public environment. I know what is scary is subjective but surely where there is any doubt, protecting kids should come first?