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IT movie evil clown trailer should not have aired during Little Big Shots, rules ad watchdog

A trailer for the horror film IT has been banned by the Advertising Standards Board for including content which is “offending”, “too scary” and would cause “alarm and distress” to both children and adults.

The 30 second trailer for the film aired during Seven On Demand’s family program Little Big Shots with one complaint arguing that the trailer should be “removed and unlinked with shows that children will obviously be watching”.

Another complaint to the ad watchdog said the content in the ad is “frightening” and advertising for a MA15+ movie during a family rated program isn’t appropriate.

“My children (6 yo and 8 yo) were terrified by the images and music,” another complaint said.

Responding to the complaint, Roadshow Films said broadcasters have since been contacted to ensure the ad will not air during programs rated G and PG. Roadshow Films also said it has pushed its time targeting from 7pm-3am to 9pm-3am.

Despite actions taken by Roadshow Films to rectify the issues, the Ad Standards Board said although the trailer included content from the film, the snippets shown in the ad is “outside of the bounds of what is acceptable for an advertisement shown in a program such as Little Big Shots”.

Ad for the movie about a murderous supernatural clown was not suitable during Little Big Shots

The watchdog upheld the complaint concluding the commercial had a level of “implied violence” which is inappropriate for a broad audience.

“The sinister tone and use of children means that the content is not appropriate for a broad audience which would include young children as it would likely cause alarm and distress,” the Board added.

Roadshow Films said the campaign for IT has now ceased.

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