50 Cent poster gets rap from British ad watchdog

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — Britain's advertising watchdog slapped down the world's biggest record company for a poster that shows US rap star 50 Cent with a baby in his arms and a pistol in his waist.

The Advertising Standards Authority said the "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" advert -- which sparked 17 complaints -- breached industry guidelines on social responsibility, decency, violence and anti-social behaviour, and children.

The poster -- a tie-in to a biopic of the gangsta rapper -- showed Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's naked tattooed back with a handgun tucked into his jeans, with a baby's face was visible over the rapper's shoulder.

Defending the image, Universal Music Group, part of France's Vivendi Universal conglomerate, said the image was meant to illustrate the star's...