THE LONDON DUNGEON’S ADVERTISING DEEMED
TOO DISTRESSING FOR THE CAPITAL
13th July 2010 – Leading scare attraction, The London Dungeon is confounded by the ASA’s decision to pull an interactive London Underground ad campaign for its latest attraction because it is deemed too scary for the public.
Promoting the attraction’s newest feature, which tells the gruesome story of Bloody Mary Tudor, the campaign at the centre of the furore showed a sequence of moving images which turned Henry VIII’s notorious daughter from a stately medieval Queen to terrifyingly ghoulish Queen. The Advertising Standards Association (ASA) ruled the ad was in breach of CAP Code clause 9.1 and could cause fear and distress.
“We’re in the business of scaring with a historical twist and we pride ourselves on advertising that is provocative and edgy” General Manager Nicola Ratcliffe commented: “However we are amazed by the ASA’s decision. Indeed, we worked closely with all the necessary bodies to ensure our Bloody Mary advertising met all the required criteria. Undoubtedly the sight of a regal monarch morphing into a monstrous figure is an arresting one and was intended to grab attention. However, we are totally confounded by this decision. It seems a total over reaction to a tiny number of complaints and can certainly not be representative of a consensus of opinion.”
The ASA’s decision was in response to just four complaints but the Dungeon’s appeal against the decision was overruled.
A similar complaint from the National Blood Donation Service about a previous campaign, was lodged last year, but was successfully defended and rejected.
