Disney advertisement pulled after two complaints
Written by Erin Bradbury - 11 March 2026
Advertisements are absolutely everywhere. In the UK, advertisements are governed by codes which advertisers, agencies and media organisations must follow. This is enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority, otherwise known as the ASA, which has the power to remove or amend any ads that breach those rules – for instance, it has had over 31,000 ads either changed or removed.
Advertising in the UK is regulated by codes which fall into two categories: non-broadcast (which is regulated through the Committee of Advertising Practice or CAP code) and broadcast (regulated through the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice or BCAP code.) When it comes to non-broadcast advertising, the ASA is self-regulated, meaning advertisers voluntarily fund and abide by it.
Broadcast advertising works differently, with a co-regulation agreement with Ofcom coming into play. Ofcom is the independent statutory regulator for communications services, whose duties come from Parliament. This means the co-regulatory system has a legal backstop.
Anyone who believes that advertising rules have been broken is able to submit a complaint to the ASA within three months of the ad appearing. Even a small number of complaints can result in an action. For example, most recently Disney’s advert portraying a severed body for the ‘Predator Badlands’ film received two complaints describing it as inappropriate and distributing for young children. Disney argued that the severed character was a ‘synth’ or robot and therefore unlikely to cause harm of offence.
However, the ASA said this was not clear from the advert. While the film was rated 12A, and Disney argued that its advertisements had been designed to reflect this, it was found to breach the social responsibility and harm and offence provisions of the code. Ultimately, the ASA determined that the advert needed to be suitable for a general audience, which extends to young children, and banned the advert in its current form.
The ASA is at its core a self-regulatory body responsible for the day-to-day regulation of the advertising industry. Whilst it really only holds a soft power, it does have the ability to make decisions that carry weight for advertisers, especially given its co-regulatory partnership with Ofcom. Ofcom’s regulatory powers are provided by the Communications Act 2003, which enables them to issue fines, revoke licenses, and initiate court proceedings, though it is rare that this happens.