50 Cent biopic posters withdrawn in U.K.

A poster of rapper 50 Cent holding a baby and a gun has been pulled inBritain after complaints to the U.K. Advertising Standards Authority.

The poster, advertising 50 Cent's biopic, Get Rich or Die Tryin,' shows the rapper's naked tatooed back and a gun tucked in the waist of his pants. He is holding a baby, whose face appears over his shoulder.

The ad led to 17 complaints to the ad standards authority, with most saying the ad is offensive becauseit promotes gun violence.

The ad watchdog found the poster in breach of advertising rules relating to social responsibility, violence, decency, anti-social behaviour and children.

The poster campaign has now been withdrawn by the film's distributor. The advertiser claimed the poster showed the choice 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, had to make between the child and violence.

The ad watchdog noted the relevance of the poster to the film, but said, "We considered, however, that Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson had such cultural credibility, especially among young people, that his association with gang culture and criminal behaviour was likely to be seen as glamorizing and condoning the possession and use of guns."

The Advertising Standards Authority is a regulatory body run by the British ad industry that enforces advertising standards and investigates misleading ad claims. Its rulings can be appealed, but are backed up by a compliance team.

Posters for the movie showing50 Centholding a microphone and a gun have been withdrawn in some markets in the U.S. and Canada because of complaints that they glamorize violence.

The U.K. ad watchdog also ruled that a poster advertising the TV remake of Kojak was offensive because it used the word "Mothersucker" with a lollipop replacing the "o."