Advertising isn’t just advertising.
What our advertisements are about, what they say and the way they say it, tells us a lot about who we are as a society. They tell us what turns us on.
And the advertisements that inspire controversy, outrage, shock and offense? They show us what turns us off.
The ads below were collected on Huffington Post, as 100 controversial ads that got people talking. We’ve brought you a taste of what they put together but also added in a bunch of Australian examples as well.
Some of these ads were considered controversial because they’re sexist, or racist. Some of them because they are overtly sexual, or display a fair bit of bare flesh. Some of them could be considered offensive because of the language they use. And some – just some – perhaps because they tell a hard truth.
Do you find these ads offensive? Do you remember them?
Top Comments
All adds that demean or humiliate women are offensive.
If women were the dominate power group maybe we could laugh some off.
But women are not in the position of power.
Adds that portray women as disposable or only good for sex or cleaning serve to keep women in their place. They encourage teenage girls to see themselves as sex objects(enter pouting selfie) and stop grown women from asking for an iota of the respect they deserve.
This should be of concern to all members of society.
Many of those ads don't bother me (apart from those old-school, sexist ones... but that was then).
For me, ads are all about time and place, and appropriateness. I'm in New Zealand and here, at about 3:30 every day, an advertisement comes on TV campaigning against pig farming. There are all these images of poor little caged piggies... it's very confronting, I'm sure you can imagine. And you know what I do? I leap for the remote to turn it off immediately. 3:30 is prime tele time for the kids. What are they thinking? Likewise with graphic drunk driving ads. If all you're achieving is upsetting people, they're more likely to ignore your message altogether.
At the end of the day, ads are designed to get people thinking about a brand, and talking about it. That's why some quite "controversial" ads work. But while I can cope with a rude billboard, what about my child? How do I explain that to them? A sexy ad is fine in cosmo magazine, but keep it out of public viewing, please. And if you want some money for WSPA or something, just ask. I've installed an ad-ban in my Chrome browser because all it takes is for me to see one emaciated dog in the sidebar and my whole day is ruined.
Time and place!