Poster for movie Unfriended breached advertising codes over treatment of suicide

A poster for the movie Unfriended has fallen foul of the ad watchdog after it was adjudged to make suicide seem “as attractive an option as being at a party or with your boyfriend”.

The ad for the film featured a mock internet search bar with several autocompleted search terms around the character Laura Barns, who killed herself in the film after suffering incessant online abuse. Autocomplete options under the search bar included ‘Laura Barns suicide’ just above ‘Laura Barns party photos’.

A complaint to the ASB said: “If the media doesn’t even report on suicides or attempted suicides, I don’t think it is appropriate for that to be on print as an ad for a movie. I’m sure there are other features of the story that can be highlighted instead.”

In response to the complaint, Universal Picture Australia said the company had followed every rule required.