7 of the Most Controversial Posters of All Time

You would never imagine the world of posters to be one of uproar, controversy and ill-feeling; well it is and there have been plenty of arms raised over posters throughout the years. So, what posters have really caused outcry throughout the years?

The Outlaw - 1943

If your movie has been delayed by two years, you need something to really give it a lift. Howard Hughes did so by employing the poster printing people to create an even more controversial addition. The poster for The Outlaw, of a scantily clad Jane Russell caused another three year ban and the movie was pulled under the Hays Code.

Silent Night, Deadly Night - 1984

If a movie about a Santa Claus serial killer wasn’t enough, the posters certainly were. Silent Night, Deadly Night had an image of the man himself climbing down the chimney axe in hand. TriStar had to pull all of the advertising for the film.

Moscow on The Hudson - 1984

Though simply a cartoon image of the main character’s trip from Russia to New York, it seems that it was a copy of a New Yorker cartoonist’s image called ‘View of the World from Ninth Avenue’. The judge ruled in his favour and he go a significant pay out.

Saw 2 - 2005

Using severed body parts to provide a numerical sign is generally frowned upon and in the case of Saw 2, this was the case. However, it only was banned after the advert had been shown outside cinemas worldwide and had been on the Internet for weeks before that.

Shame - 2011

The guilt ridden film’s posters were based around bed sheets in most countries. However, Hungary had its advert spelled out in semen, resulting in an outright ban for the advert.

Couples Retreat - 2009

One of the couples was missing from the poster in the UK, with the US image showing four posters opposed to the UK’s three. This was supposedly done to eliminate clutter in the image, however caused public condemnation, which resulted in Universal ditching the advert.

Captivity - 2007

A fine example of poster printing and censorship – the film’s image shows a step by step guide to torture. This resulted in a ban by the MPAA, though the adverts were displayed anyhow. This caused public outcry and criticism of the graphic content and the cynical nature of the film.

Poster printing is a simple task you would imagine; however with the addition of censorship and graphical films it can be more colourful than you would imagine.

Cormac Reynolds works for UK poster printing company 1Clickprint.com.