See that woman above? That’s Queen Mary I, the daughter of noted despot and gurgitator King Henry VIII. Like her father, she had a bit of a mean streak, hence her nickname “Bloody Mary.” However, according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), there’s a limit to what you can do with Mary’s image, and making her into a snarling, red-eyed, rotted-tooth monster is a bit too much, as a digital ad sign featuring a zombified Queen Mary was banned from British subway stations.
The company behind the ad, Merlin Entertainments, says the ASA is missing the point of the monster queen, the subject of a new exhibit at the famed London Dungeon. “The object of the advertising was to show the dark side of her personality and portray her as a villain.” After all, she DID kind of burn 300 people at the stake; that’s not something nice people do. I’m sure the popularity of Regency-era zombies was also part of the inspiration for the ad, which had to be awesome.
Tags: Queen Mary I, Bloody Mary, Mary Tudor, zombie ad featuring Queen Mary banned, London Dungeon, Advertising Standards Authority, ASA, Merlin Entertainments, unusual ads, digital ads, subway ad featuring monster Queen Mary banned