The film poster for the comic horror film about the typical Dutch Sinterklaas by Dick Maas (the profile of a ‘scary’ Sinterklaas, here on the left) led to several complaints. Young children could be frightened by the poster. The Advertising Code Committee received more than ten complainsts that will be decided on this week.
The movie Sint will te on from 11 November in the Dutch cinema. The film is supposed to be a comic horror movie in which the children's friend Sinterklaas is portrayed as a creepy maniac who likes to chop small children's heads off. The director, Dick Maas, replied to be surprised and irritated: "We have deliberately chosen not to use the worn out face of Sinterklaas on the poster", he explained. "Not only to protect the poor children, but especially because it is more interesting for the people who will go and watch the movie not to know everything in advance." Here on the right the non official poster with a really creepy Sinterklaas is pictured. If that one is compared to the version that has been used, I can at least imagine Dick Maas's irritation.
The exact content of the complaints is unkown to me. The Advertising Code Committee will probably judge whether this poster (the one on the left) is contrary to good taste and decency. This is judged quite marginally. But Sinterklaas related posters and stories have been getting much attention every year as soon as they deviate from the 'regular' Sinterklaas. [Addition of 22 October 2010: the Advertising Code Committee has rejected the complaint, considering that it does not believe that children are actually frightened by the poster.]
Maarten Haak
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The film poster for the comic horror film about the typical Dutch Sinterklaas by Dick Maas (the profile of a ‘scary’ Sinterklaas, here on the left) led to several complaints. Young children could be frightened by the poster. The Advertising Code Committee received more than ten complainsts that will be decided on this week.
The movie Sint will te on from 11 November in the Dutch cinema. The film is supposed to be a comic horror movie in which the children's friend Sinterklaas is portrayed as a creepy maniac who likes to chop small children's heads off. The director, Dick Maas, replied to be surprised and irritated: "We have deliberately chosen not to use the worn out face of Sinterklaas on the poster", he explained. "Not only to protect the poor children, but especially because it is more interesting for the people who will go and watch the movie not to know everything in advance." Here on the right the non official poster with a really creepy Sinterklaas is pictured. If that one is compared to the version that has been used, I can at least imagine Dick Maas's irritation.
The exact content of the complaints is unkown to me. The Advertising Code Committee will probably judge whether this poster (the one on the left) is contrary to good taste and decency. This is judged quite marginally. But Sinterklaas related posters and stories have been getting much attention every year as soon as they deviate from the 'regular' Sinterklaas. [Addition of 22 October 2010: the Advertising Code Committee has rejected the complaint, considering that it does not believe that children are actually frightened by the poster.]
Maarten Haak