PUT YOUR GUN DOWN, IT'S TIME TO CHANGE THE DIAPER

For the second time in a few weeks, 50 Cent has got into trouble for waving his guns about on billboards. Following on from the movie posters in the US, the Advertising Standards Authority has instructed Universal to stop using posters featuring 50 Cent holding a gun and a baby for Get Rich or Die Tryin.

The adjudication is a wonderful piece of work, calling him "Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson" and printing the explanation offered by Universal for the posters:

Universal Music Group (UMG) said the image chosen for the album ad was taken from the promotional material created for the film of the same name and was designed to communicate the narrative of the main character's struggle to escape the ghetto in which he grew up. They maintained that the image was intended to show the choice that Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson's character had to make between the child and the violence represented by the gun.

We love the idea of someone in UMG's head office in the UK loosening his tie, putting down his prawn sandwich from Pret-A-Manger, and starting to write the ASA a letter about the realities of life in the ghetto. It didn't work, as the ASA isn't that stupid:

We noted the relationship between the image in the poster and the narrative of the film. 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 glamorising and condoning the possession and use of guns. We also considered the combination of the title, "Get Rich or Die Tryin", and the image of Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson carrying a gun could give the impression that success could be achieved through violence. We concluded that the image was likely to cause serious or widespread offence and was irresponsible. We told UMG not to repeat the approach.

Something to remember the next time the record labels start to lecture us about irresponsibility. Something else to remember.

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