‘Frightened to the point of tears’: Disney+ pinged for ‘violent’ OOH ad
Streaming service Disney+ has been found in breach of the AANA’s code of ethics for the placement of a Halloween trailer played on a digital billboard at a Perth train station.
The campaign, which featured scenes from a range of The Walt Disney Company’s (Disney’s) thriller and horror titles as part of its ‘Hallowstream’ promotions, was the subject of a complaint that raised concerns about the advertisement’s out-of-home (OOH) placement in relation to Section 2.3 of the code, regarding violence.
“My youngest who is three became frightened to the point of tears just from the imagery depicted in the
advertisement,” read the complaint. “May I please request we make the train and public transport accessible
to all by removing alarming content from large screens? At least during day time hours.”
The campaign was created by Publicis, which confirmed that the respective spot was submitted to and reviewed by JCDecaux, which holds the OOH contract for the Perth train station.
In its response, Disney added that the campaign had been reviewed against the AANA codes and Outdoor Media Association (OMA) guidelines and was found to be compliant.
In relation to Section 2.3 of the code, the streamer argued that “notwithstanding the underlying theme of Halloween programming and that some of the characters shown are scared, the Advertisement itself and the excerpts from programmes featured do not of themselves depict acts of violence and do not contain graphic or gruesome elements such as blood or gore”.
The response continued: “When taken together with the tone of the voiceover and the play on words between ‘streaming’ and ‘screaming’, Disney submits that the Advertisement has an overall sense of parody, and to a general audience, should not reasonably cause alarm or distress.”
In considering the advertisement, the Panel noted that the placement at a train station meant the film would be seen by a broad audience that included children.
While Panel acknowledged the scenes depicted were not alarming or overly menacing, it upheld the complaint on the basis that the inclusion of any violent or distressing scenes was not justifiable in relation to the audience.
Disney confirmed that the campaign, which had already concluded at the end of October, would not be re-used.
The streamer is the latest high-profile advertiser to breach Ad Standards, after Aldi was the subject of an upheld complaint for its divisive Christmas campaign.
The supermarket giant pulled the 60-second version of the Christmas ad from its media plan after a scene featuring the indoor use of a barbeque was found to be in contradiction to prevailing community health and safety standards.
Have your say