Disney's Predator: Badlands poster was banned for showing a severed body

Ahead of the November release of the Disney sci-fi film Predator: Badlands, Twentieth Century Studios ran a 10-second digital poster ad on a roadside in Giffnock, Glasgow. The ad showed a large, menacing alien holding aloft a severed human figure by the neck — the bottom half of the body missing, the spine exposed — with a close-up of the alien's distorted face and fangs, captioned 'welcome to a world of hurt'.

Parents complained the advert was inappropriate and disturbing for young children. The ASA upheld the complaint in February 2026, ruling the poster was likely to frighten and cause distress to children. The severed torso and exposed spine were 'disturbing to younger children', and the ASA said it was not clear the severed figure was a robot — the alien 'appeared menacing'. The ad breached the social responsibility and harm-and-offence provisions of the CAP Code and 'must not appear again in its current form'.

Disney defended the ad — the severed figure was a 'synth' robot, the film was rated 12A, the imagery was brief and stylised, and the artwork had been sense-checked by third parties. The ASA rejected the argument on placement: the ad appeared in a public roadside space where children could see it, regardless of the film's rating. Disney acknowledged the ruling, saying it 'takes its responsibilities to audiences very seriously'.