10 Controversial and Banned Commercials

Advertisements on print and video media are currently the order of all businesses in the world. Though a good thing for publicity, some commercials have been eliciting complaints because of their perceived negative messages.

10 Controversial and Banned Commercials

The following are top 10 of banned commercials:

1. Go Compare

Go Compare is arguably one of the most annoying banned commercials. Much of its criticism stemmed from its advert showing a footballer kicking a ball into the stomach of an opera singer. In another incidence, this advert also included a woman wearing a balaclava who shot the singer with a bazooka.

According to viewers, this ad trivialized war and terrorism. This ad received much criticism from lots of viewers in 2004, and all of them wanted it banned.

2. Tango Pipes

Tango pipes commercials were simply famous because of their bizarre nature. These banned commercials started to run on air from the tear1991 to 1997 when they were banned from broadcasting. The commercials are mostly remembered for an orange man walking almost-naked. This man used to slap people as supped tango. The ads are as well remembered for a man in a dodgy suit and used to scream in the ear of a woman.

In an attempt to redeem themselves from the list of banned commercials, Tango tried to redeem their ads in 2004 by introducing ads featuring a young man wrapped in a carpet of oranges rolling down the hill before hitting a tree and finally hitting concrete pipes making the fruits to explode. However, their efforts were futile as the Advertising Standards Agency insisted on the ban.

3. Microsoft Xbox: ‘Champagne’

Microsoft found itself in a list of banned commercials when they were banned by the ASA for their controversial ad showing a man crashing into his own grave. The advert started by showing a woman giving birth to a baby boy who grew very fast before he flew out through the air and finally smashed into his own grave.

The advert received much criticism from different quotas for its offensive, bad and socking taste. Other viewers felt that this ad violated the rights of pregnant women and their new-born babies. This ad was finally banned in the year 2002.

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4. Paddy Power

Paddy Power ad was run in 2010 on TV and featured a cat which was being kicked a cross a football pitch by footballers wearing blindfolds. Despite public outcries for this ad to be included among the list of banned commercials, the ASA defied the odds by not banning it.

Viewers complained of a deliberate effort to promote animal cruelty by this advert. Photos of her chest are a revelation of the extent at which plastic surgery gone wrong has reached.

5. Department of Energy and Climate Change

Nobody thought that a government agency would promote an advert which would eventually become one of the most featured banned commercials. The advert by the department of energy and climate change featured a girl who was being read a book by her father and a voice is heard talking of dangers of CO2 smoke.

This story book showered a black smoke rising from an urban area in a shape of a monster. After receiving more than 939 complains, the ASA took up its responsibility and banned this ad ASA felt that this ad would exaggerate the likelihood and impact of bad weather conditions.

6. Pancreatic Cancer Campaign

Pancreatic cancer campaign is among the best renowned banned commercials. This advert received more than 200 complaints from viewers who felt that cancer as an emotive subject should not joked around. This ad compares two types of the disease; a woman and man both suffering from pancreatic cancer is shown wishing to suffer from breast or testicular cancer instead.

Since its first time on air in February 2014, Kerry Harvey who featured in the advert is no longer there as he has already died. Much of the criticism from press and online were based on the fact that the ad merely left a bad taste to people in regards to cancer.

7. Marmite

The marmite is one of the famous banned commercials which was loved and hated in equal measure. This ad featured a team of people saving neglected jars of marmite from abandoned households. Most of the viewers complained of the advert trivializing the hard work put forward by animal rescue agencies.

At the same time, there were viewers who complained of the advert mocking charities like NSPCC who are responsible for neglected child rescue. In an attempt to respond to these criticisms, marmite gave out £18,000 to the RSPCA as a form of apologizing for causing offence.

8. Phones 4U

The mobile phone company found its advert in the list of banned commercials when they tried to advertise in a strangely spooky way. An ad in 2011 depicting a girl looking like a ghost received more than 600 complaints from viewers. The girl in this ad was liked to a character from the horror film known as The Ring.

A woman was stalked from a lonely underground garage before she was told of a deal for her mobile. Most viewers felt that the advert featured inappropriate images for mainstream viewing and was more likely to cause stress for children.

9. John Lewis

Despite being one of the most prestigious department stores in Britain, John Lewis caused an outrage by its supposedly cute Xmas advert.

10. Irn Bru

Irn Bru found itself in hot soup when they introduced an advert featuring cartoon animals. In this advert, the cute animals were led by a pied type figure to a butcher shop. This advert attracted more than 204 complaints from viewers who felt this ad was offensive and distressing to children.

 The ASA failed to include this ad in the list of Banned commercials because they felt the grievances were not grave. Other complaints on this ad were based that the ad was ant-English. It featured a Scottish man struggling to maintain his cool when his daughter introduced her English boyfriend to him.

Though controversial commercials are banned in many of the world’s governments, corruption and defiance continue to make this scenario to be witnessed over and over again. In some cases, children have picked bad morals because of the continued promotion of these banned commercials.