Channel 4 broke rules by broadcasting an advert for Fear the Walking Dead on a Sunday afternoon during a children’s film, the advertising watchdog has said.
The ad for the zombie horror series included a voiceover that said “Good morning Los Angeles. Hope you got your flu shot. Reports that a strange virus is going around. If you’re not feeling well go home and take care of yourself.”
It showed scenes from the Amazon Prime series, including a shadowed figure, a sick man falling down, people running in distress, sirens and people in bio-hazard suits. During these scenes, one of the female characters asked “What the hell is happening?”
On-screen text read “Every horror … has a beginning. Fear the Walking Dead season one. Fear begins here …”. Towards the end of the ad was a male voice-over that stated, “Fear the walking dead season one. Watch and download with Amazon Prime and take the fear with you.”
Three viewers complained to the Advertising Standards Authority that the ad had been inappropriately scheduled on a Sunday at 5.35pm and 6.40pm during the animated film Rango.
Channel 4 said it restricted the advertising shown during films that would appeal to children.
It said it had checked with ad clearance body Clearcast, which had said “although the ad came across as slightly menacing, it featured no zombies, injuries, violence or people in distress”. It had therefore cleared it with no restrictions, but recommended broadcasters should review it to check whether it should air in programmes appealing to children under nine years old.
The broadcaster added its internal system should have flagged up such guidance, but it had failed to do so.
The ASA said the ad should be scheduled sensitively because it “created a build-up of suspense that could be distressing to younger children”.
It said Channel 4 had broadcast it during an animated film that would have “strong appeal to young children”, in “family viewing time” on a Sunday afternoon.
BARB data showed that children made up 218,000 of the show’s 927,000 viewers and the majority (150,000) were between four and nine years of age.
The ASA ruled that the ad broke advertising rules, saying: “We considered that the ad could be distressing to younger children and concluded that it had been inappropriately scheduled.”
