Watchdog bans Sin City film ads

The posters were in bus shelters

An interactive film advert which showed clips of the film Sin City has been banned by the advertising watchdog for condoning violence.

The Advertising Standards Authority said the scenes were unsuitable for children and were likely to cause widespread offence.

It is the first time the ASA has upheld a complaint against an interactive advertisement of this sort.

Clips of the 18-certificate film showed shots being fired and a car crash.

They were displayed in bus shelter and also featured a man being punched.

Children's view

A complainant who had seen the movie - which stars Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke - told the ASA the poster was distressing, violent and unsuitable to be seen by children.

The film company Buena Vista International said it had removed bad language and violence from the material on the poster.

During the 47-day campaign, it said, there were 486,570 interactions with the posters and just one complaint.

It said it had placed the buttons people used to watch the clips higher than normal, out of the reach of children.

But the ASA said children could still see the clips once the buttons had been pressed.

It ordered the posters to be withdrawn.