U.K. Advertisers Pull Ads on IMDB

LONDON — Two advertisers have pulled online ads off of Amazon’s Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) after finding the banners placed next to listings for adult movie titles. The companies that pulled the ads, National Lottery and BarclayCard are both based in the U.K.

“As company policy, we seek to advertise only on reputable websites and temporarily removed our adverts from this site while we carried out a full investigation and spoke to the website,” a Barclays Group spokesperson said.

Barclays Group is the issuer of BarclayCard and several other consumer credit cards, and is one of the largest consumer lending companies in Europe. The company said also that it is investigating the situation and considering reinstatement of the ads.

"The Internet Movie Database seeks to list all the movies which have ever been made, including adult ones, but by no stretch of the imagination could it be described as a porn site,” the Barclays spokesperson said.

So far, other advertisers on IMDB including Hewlitt Packard, Motorola, Hilton Hotels and Citro?n have not pulled any of their ads.

Recently, social networking website Facebook had several advertisers, including Vodafone, pull advertising off the site after the ads were placed next to member profiles that did not meet company standards for appropriate content.

The incidents raise questions about future online advertising campaigns on sites in which the marketers have very little control over ad placement or advertising on sites that are comprised mostly of user-generated content.

The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers’ marketing manager Alex Ricks said that advertisers should be cautious about making sure to take as many precautions as possible in placing their ads in order to avoid association with inappropriate content and that controls should be in place if ads needed to be removed quickly.

“They do need to be wary of brand damage through association with content that they may consider questionable,” Ricks said.

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

XBIZ 2026 Conference to Debut All-New Company Lounges, Community Track

The event website for XBIZ 2026 is now live, offering information about North America’s largest adult industry conference, set to take place Jan. 12-15.

Maria May Makes Her WIFEY Debut

Creator Maria May stars with her husband Jeff, Hollywood Cash, and Jamie Knoxx in the latest release from Vixen Media Group studio imprint WIFEY.

Alexis James Stars in Latest BAM Visions Scene

Alexis James stars alongside multi-XMAs winner Mick Blue in a new scene co-directed by Blue and Maestro Claudio, aka BAM Visions, from Evil Angel.

Charlotte Sins Performs Her 1st Gangbang for Adult Time

Charlotte Sins performs her first gangbang in the latest release from Adult Time.

Cutting Edge Testing Joins PASS as New Partner

Performer Availability Screening Services (PASS) has added Cutting Edge Testing (CET) as a new testing partner.

Andylynn Payne, Emma Rosie Topline Joey Silvera's 'Trans-Active 32'

Andylynn Payne and Emma Rosie headline director Joey Silvera’s “Trans-Active 32” from Evil Angel.

Mymember.site Integrates VR Functionality

Mymember.site has added virtual reality playback capability to its website management platform.

Texas Patti to Launch Fetish Platform 'EmpireDom'

Performer and content creator Texas Patti is launching a new platform for doms and fetish creators, EmpireDom.com.

Vince Karter Discusses Directing for Evil Angel

After 13 years on screen, Vince Karter has taken his talents to the other side of the camera. He recently made his studio directing debut for Evil Angel, where five scenes helmed by the two-time Euro XMAs Male Performer of the Year are already streaming on the site.

WIFEY Names Serenity Cox Brand Ambassador

Vixen Media Group (VMG) studio imprint WIFEY has named Serenity Cox as its brand ambassador.

Show More