The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned outdoor posters for the horror film The Mummy after ruling that they gave a "realistic impression of a dead child", following 30 complaints from the public. The adverts, which appeared in London Underground stations, showed a close-up of a mummified female figure with grey, cracked skin and one eye swollen shut, alongside the tagline "Some things are meant to stay buried." The ruling matters because it sets a precedent for how far horror-film marketing can go in public spaces where children and passers-by have no choice but to see the imagery.

Warner Bros defended the campaign, saying it had been designed responsibly and without intent to frighten, noting the character was a "living mummy" reunited with her parents after being kidnapped as a child, and that the design had already been cleared by Transport for London's advertising partner, Global. However, the ASA found the ashen skin, cracked lips, fixed vacant eye and sunken features created a lifelike dead-child appearance likely to distress young children, particularly given one billboard was visible from a nursery, even though none were within 100 metres of a school. A related TV and streaming trailer, approved by Clearcast for broadcast after 7.30pm, was not subject to the same outdoor ban.