It violated YouTube’s “shocking content policy”
YouTube has removed an ad for the new movie in The Conjuring franchise, The Nun, after it attracted criticism online.
The pre-roll adverts for the film mimicked YouTube’s “skip ad” button, with a warning to viewers to turn down their volume – which according to Polygon, was then followed by “a grotesque image from the film pops up, accompanied by a large bang and piercing scream”.
The ad attracted an entire Reddit thread of complaints as it appeared on comedy and music videos. “I just got an ad where a fucking tarantula crawls out of a girl’s mouth when I just wanted to listen to The Offspring and I’m fucking pissed now,” wrote one user.
And it has now been confirmed that the ad violated YouTube’s “shocking content policy,” and has now been removed. “We value diversity and respect for others, and we strive to avoid offending or shocking users with ads, websites, or apps that are inappropriate for our ad network,” YouTube said.
Appreciate you bringing this to our attention! This ad violates our shocking content policy and it's no longer running as an ad. More info here: https://t.co/dOUocjUevh
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) August 14, 2018
The film is released 7 September and will focus on a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania that takes her own life. A priest with a haunted past and a novitiate that’s on the threshold of her final vows are sent by the Vatican to investigate. Together, they uncover the order’s unholy secret and confront a malevolent force in the form of the demonic.
The movie is directed by Corin Hardy, known for his debut feature The Hallow, and will be released by New Line Cinema.
In an interview with The Movie Crypt earlier this year, the director said that the film will feature practical effects whenever possible.
“I’ve come from a love of practical. It’s not just nostalgic, it’s things being real and tangible, and you can light them in front of the camera if they’re there, you can touch them, people can see them, you can make them wet and they look great,” he said.
“All of that stuff you can do in CG but it takes such a lot of work to do it to the right level…I always want to say, ‘Let’s do everything as much as we possibly can for real, including in-camera stunts, effects, and then use the CGI to be beautiful, original, invisible tool.’”
