Poltergeist Is Cleared After Complaints Over Its 'Distressing' Clown Poster

Coulrophobics have been dealt a devastating blow, after the Advertising Standards Authority cleared posters featuring a creepy clown for public display.

The advertising watchdog investigated the posters, which were made up to promote the remake of the 80s horror classic, after more than 70 people – many of them parents – complained about them.

As well as the damaged-looking, deeply creepy clown face, the posters also featured the ominous tagline ‘They Know What Scares You’, but it has now been deemed officially ‘not menacing’.

However, the ASA has found in favour of 20th Century Fox, the film’s producers.

The ads appeared in various outdoor locations, and while Fox acknowledged they had upset some people, it maintained that they were generally suitable.

Said the ASA in a statement on the matter: “The ASA acknowledged that some children and adults considered that the ad was distressing especially in an untargeted, outdoor medium and that consumers with coulrophobia could find the ad distressing.

“We noted that the ad had a dark format and the image of the clown stared out from the poster and had a scruffy appearance.

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“However, we considered the image was not menacing and noted the ad included no other images that were likely to contribute to such an impression.

“The ad also included the text ‘They know what scares you. Poltergeist’ but we considered in the context of ads for a horror movie it was not overtly threatening or suggestive of danger, rather it was likely to be understood by consumers as being a typical reflection of a movie of that format.

“Although we acknowledged that some distress had been caused, because we did not consider that the overall impression of the ads was such that they were likely to cause excessive fear or distress, particularly in the context of an ad for a horror film, we concluded that they were not irresponsibly targeted in outdoor media.”

Where 'Poltergeist’ was lucky, however, many other movies have had their promotional material sanctioned in the past, usually on the grounds of decency.

Last year, Terry Gilliam’s promo for 'Zero Theorem’ was ditched in the US over its zesty depiction of Christophe Waltz’s buttocks.

Comic book sequel 'Sin City: A Dame To Kill For’ also got moral arbiters all riled up because of its overly generous view of Eva Green’s bosom.

It was banned because of the 'curve of under breast and dark nipple areola circle visible through sheer gown’.

Sadly, the rush of viral publicity from the move didn’t save the movie - it lost its shirt at the box office, making just £25 million on a £41 million budget.

Image credits: Fox/Stage 6/Dimension