LONDON - The movie advertisements for Angelina Jolie film "Wanted" have been banned by UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) for glamorising gun violence.
Seventeen members of the public have lodged complaints, many of whom said the posters were unsuitable to be seen by children.
The film stars Jolie and British actor James McAvoy as a pair of assassins.
One ad featured Jolie lying on her back across the bonnet of a car, holding a gun next to the text: “We drove through the night at breath-taking 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.”
“We acknowledged most viewers would understand the posters reflected the content of an action film,” the ASA said in a statement. “However, 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."
An ASA spokesman added, “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.”
The film’s makers Universal Pictures said the movie was based on a comic book and the ads were highly stylised and in keeping with the nature of the book.
The banning is unlikely to make any material difference to the commercial success of the film which was released in UK in June.
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