London (pte040/18.05.2005/13:14) - An advertisement by one of the largest competitive sportswear companies, Reebok, http://www.reebok.com has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority http://asa.org.uk for too many allusions to killing, guns and massacres.

The TV ad features hip hop, gangster-style rapper 50 Cent, aka Curtis Jackson, in a dark room with a voice saying that 50 Cent was "gunned down" and "taken to Jamaica hospital". While water drips the colour of blood, a different voice asks: "Who do you plan to massacre next?"

The advertisement sparked 57 complaints, and the media watchdog ASA has banned the Reebok for 'glorifying gun violence'.

Although the ad was only meant to be shown after 9pm, ASA maintained that the advert had "potential to encourage or condone violence, particularly among vulnerable or younger viewers". In the light of the infamous drive-by shooting in which the rapper was shot nine times and survived, the ASA said the ad suggested that 50 Cent's lifestyle was aspirational, and that it implied surviving nine gun wounds was possible.

Reebok retracted the ad, but a spokesman said that "a small number of the general public misinterpreted it and found it offensive". The company, which increasingly uses stars, not only sportspeople, to promote their wares, argued that the ad was not about violence but about being able to "achieve by believing in yourself", and promoting the campaign dubbed 'I am what I am'.

(end)