The ad featured images from the film and included a voiceover and on-screen text that read: "Twice the terror, Double the fear". The ad went on to show a woman screaming and then saying "get me out of here please...oh my God".
People were seen shooting guns and a man appeared with a large weapon attempting to attack someone and shouting "die". A woman was then seen crawling away, before being dragged back. It ended with a monster licking a woman's face.
The Advertising Standards Authority received five complaints, three of which argued that the ad was too distressing, offensive and inappropriate to be shown on TV. The remaining two complaints argued that it should not have been shown before 9pm because it might have been seen by children.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, distributor of the DVD, said the ad was cleared by the BACC with a post-9pm restriction.
Creative Partnership, which produced the ad, said it was clear that the ad was for a DVD and was therefore fictitious. Also stating that it gave all broadcasters instructions to show the ad only after 9pm.
However, Paramount Comedy and VH1 broadcast the ad before 9pm on July 26 and 27. The stations apologised for any distress caused and said they had anticipated the ad would be given a post-7.30pm restriction, but only became aware of the 9pm restriction on July 26.
The stations said they had not acted on the restriction because of confusion within their offices. They said they only realised their oversight on July 30 and immediately amended the schedules.
The ASA ruled that although the ad included some violent images, they were not excessively graphic and were "unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence to viewers after 9pm".
The watchdog concluded that the 9pm restriction was appropriate and therefore the complaints about it causing distress after this timeframe were not upheld.
However, because the ad was broadcast on Paramount and VH1 before 9pm, the watchdog considered this inappropriate and upheld the complaints, asking the broadcasters to take more care when scheduling ads and when applying the BACC's clearance guidance.