OTTAWA – A horror movie promo was too violent for the pre-watershed hours the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled this morning.
The decision concerns an advertisement for the feature horror film Seed of Chucky which aired on Global Television Ontario (CIII-TV) on November 14, 2004 at 5:39 p.m. during an episode of The Simpsons.
The commercial in question was for the most recent installment in the series of “Chucky” movies (about an evil red-haired doll that comes to life and goes on murderous rampages). The commercial, which began with scenes of Santa Claus walking across the snow and Christmas music, was accompanied by a voice-over that stated “This holiday season … he’s making a list … he’s checking it twice … and if you’re naughty … you’re gonna get sliced.” This was followed by a succession of scary scenes from the movie, including close-ups of Chucky’s evil red eyes, people screaming and a bloody cleaver coming through a wall.
All in all, some nice dinner-time viewing for the kiddies as Christmas approached.
“A viewer complained to the CBSC that the commercial was inappropriate for broadcast during a late afternoon program that is designed for a family audience,” says the decision. “He made particular mention of the use of Santa Claus in the commercial, which would be disturbing to children.”
The CBSC Ontario Regional Panel examined the complaint under Article 3.3 of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Voluntary Code regarding Violence in Television Programming, which states that “Advertisements which contain scenes of violence intended for adult audiences, such as those for theatrically presented feature films, shall not be telecast before 9 p.m.”
The Panel concluded that this commercial did, in fact, contain scenes intended for adults only and the broadcast was thus in breach of the CAB Violence Code. It made the following comments:
In the promo for Seed of Chucky, all of the elements anticipated in [a previous CBSC] decision were present, namely, “fear, suspense, gore and explicitness.” It should be noted that, on the issue of explicitness, neither the knife nor the cleaver was seen penetrating any victim; however, the creators of the commercial achieved the sense that that had either happened or was on the verge of happening by the adroit use of a series of very quick cuts. Moreover, the words “You’re gonna get sliced” reinforced the visual message of the promo. The Panel considers that the commercial message was oriented toward an adult audience and ought to have been limited to a post-9 p.m. broadcast slot.
“While the Panel recognizes that The Simpsons is not a made-for-children program, it is a series that is readily viewable by families and the positioning of this promotional message in that program was in breach of Article 3.3 of the CAB Violence Code.”
