This should come as no surprise to anyone, but organizations that concern themselves with the regulation of popular media tend to look down upon the depiction of graphic violence in TV commercials broadcast to the general public.
Back in the summer of 2011, Lionsgate ran afoul of the United Kingdom’s Advertising Standards Authority, which ordered a teaser spot for The Mechanic (now streaming on Peacock alongside its 2016 sequel) be banned after it showed “a stream of violent imagery,” the non-government body told the BBC at the time. “We considered that the ad was inappropriate for children and were therefore also concerned that a significant proportion of children had been exposed to the violent imagery.”
Why A Television Ad For The Mechanic Was Banned in the United Kingdom
The controversial commercial, which appeared during a broadcast of Glee, was yanked from the air for showing “a man’s leg being speared and another man being shot in the face through a window,” the BBC reported. Fun fact: the guy who gets shot through the window is played by none other than John Wick director, Chad Stahelski. Both he and fellow Wick alum, David Leitch (who also enjoys a small role in the film), worked as stuntmen on the R-rated project. It was deemed unsuitable for UK moviegoers under the age of 15.
While the ad was shown after “the watershed” (a period of time throughout the night when mature content is allowed to be shown on TV) had taken effect, ASA surmised “it was likely a large number of viewers under the age of 16 would have been watching Glee at the time.”