Too far! Top six most outrageous ads banned this year

“It takes quite a lot to shock me. A career spent marketing cigarette, alcohol and gambling brands twinned with a lifetime of atheism mean my boundaries for controversy are fairly elastic … but not infinite … as I found when Marketing Beat sent me these six ads.” – Marketing expert and author Harry Lang.

Some ads are annoying … some ads cause widespread offence … but some are just plain outrageous.

Marketing divisions are doing all they can to grab the attention of an increasingly restless consumer nation but it’s the Advertising Standards Authority’s job to draw a line. The watchdog is frequently tasked with taking down the ads that take things just a little too far.

From underage bikini models to sexual expletives, Marketing Beat ranks the six most outrageous ads that have been subsequently banned this year.


6.  ‘What a load of shiitake’: Tesco Mobile’s swear-word-mimicking ads

Coming in at number six are three Tesco Mobile ads that were banned by the ASA for alluding to ‘offensive expletives’ back in May.

The network provider wished to emulate the annoyance felt by customers when the “big mobile networks” raise monthly bill prices.

One advertisement stated “What a load of shiitake”, while another said, “They’re taking the pistachio”. A third exclaimed, “For fettuccine’s sake”.

Tesco Mobile's banned ads

READ MORE: Tesco Mobile ads banned by ASA for mimicking swear words

While the ads may not seem overly shocking, a total of 52 offended people complained to the ASA, claiming that the ads were inappropriate for display where they could be seen by children.

Despite Tesco Mobile’s pleas that it had broken no advertising codes and that using the words “shiitake”, “pistachio”, and “fettucine” was not as offensive as using the expletives themselves, the ad authority ultimately ruled that children would put two and two together.

Looks like the network provider fudged that one up.


5.  F**k Buddy?! Comedy Central’s ad for ‘East Mode with Nigel Ng’

Climbing up the scandalous scale is Comedy Central’s pre-roll ad for the ‘East Mode with Nigel Ng’ TV programme.

In the promotion for the show, a young man’s parents ask him about the nature of his unsuccessful love life. After the son’s lack of response, the parents say, “We have arranged for you a f**k buddy.”

Phrases like “Cum chums”, “pound pals”, “d in the v action” and ”pegging” are then used as the parents embark on interviewing possible ‘candidates’ for their son.




READ MORE: Comedy Central ad banned for using sexually explicit language

Once again the good Samaritans of the advertising world were concerned about children being able to view the ad, and subsequently complained to the ASA.

While Comedy Central’s parent company Paramount claimed that the ad was “light-hearted and comedic”, the watchdog ultimately found that unsuspecting viewers on YouTube were likely to be offended.

Comedy Central did not ‘get lucky’ with this one.


4.  Alibaba and sexualising underage girls

Now we shift up a few gears.

Back in May, the ASA banned an Alibaba ad for displaying an image of an underage girl in a bikini.

The ad, in which a young female model wears makeup and a high-leg string bikini, appeared on NewsNow’s MailOnline’s retrospective websites.

Unsurprisingly, viewers of the marketplace’s ad found it to be “irresponsible” for portraying a child in a sexualised way.

alibaba ads

READ MORE: Alibaba ad banned for displaying underage girl in a bikini

The advertising watchdog branded the ad as “apparent disregard” for advertising code, and also expressed concern at Alibaba’s “lack of response” to enquiries made about the nature of the ad.

“The model, who was looking straight at the camera, also wore makeup and posed with her head at a slight angle, pushing her hair behind her ear in a coquettish manner,” the ASA said.

Fortunately, the ad was taken down after a brief investigation. Unfortunately, it seems no one was held accountable.


3.  PrettyLittleThing’s sexually suggestive images of a child

Keeping with the horrendous theme of sexualising children, last week a PrettyLittleThing ad was banned for using sexually suggestive images of a 16-year-old.

Brand ambassador Alabama Barker – daughter of drummer Travis Barker and the step-daughter of Kourtney Kardashian – featured on the retailer’s website posing in tight-fitting, revealing clothing.

The abhorrent images also appeared alongside text which read: “Channel that teen dream realness with barely-there micro mini skirts.”

PrettyLittleThing ASA ads

READ MORE: PrettyLittleThing ad banned for sexually suggestive images of child

“Absurdly tasteless,” is how marketing expert Harry Lang described the advertisement.

“PrettyLittleThing is a big enough operation to know better than to tell girls to ‘Channel that teen dream realness’ with revealing clothing using a picture of an underage model. Where was the sense check? How did this pass multiple sign off levels? Or are they just blind to what is effectively suggestive paedophilia?”

One of the clothing brand’s responses included the fact that the ad had been approved by 16-year-old Barker. PrettyLittleThing also added that she often poses in a similar style on her own Instagram account, as if that made it ok.

Nevertheless, the brand had to wave bye-bye to this truly immoral promotion.


2.  A Fred West-inspired Father’s Day?!

Taking second place in the heinous advertisement rankings is a Fred West-inspired Father’s Day ad for a live dissection event.

The email ad for The Vivit Experience, produced by ITAE Productions, was titled ‘She’s Under The Patio’ and included a picture of the killer.

The ad stated: “This week we take a look at the fathers famous for all the wrong reasons… Fred West became known in the 1990s when it was revealed him and his wife, Rosemary, were involved in 12 murders of young women in Gloucester.”

“One of their victims was their own daughter… when she was missing they would often joke of her being ‘buried under the patio’. Take 10% off this Fathers Day.”

FRED WEST ads

READ MORE: Fred West inspired Father’s Day ad banned for causing serious offence

The promotion also included an image of a body cut open through the stomach, displaying its internal organs.

We are sure it comes as no surprise that the ASA found the conflation of Fred West with the celebration of Father’s Day to be shocking and offensive.

“The subject line of the ad, ‘she’s under the patio,’ also refers to the murder of Heather West and the subsequent concealment of her body. We considered that using the murder of a young woman, in order to shock readers into clicking on the ad, was gratuitous and likely to cause serious offence.”


1.  The Madeleine McCann burger van ad

And for the winner, the most outrageous ad banned this year…

… step up, The Otley Burger Company’s Madeleine McCann social media ads.

“With burgers this good, you’ll leave your kids at home. What’s the worst that could happen”.

A tweet, an Instagram and a Facebook post from the food truck company all featured images of the missing child Madeleine McCann and her mother Kate, with the aforementioned tagline.

In the background of the promotion a man could also be seen to be running away with a superimposed image of Madeleine in his hands. Though the Instagram post stated “this is not an advert”, the post also included the phrase  “Happy Mothers Day to all the mums out there”.

madeleine mccann ads

“The burger van company might be a small outfit but f***ing hell… that level of abhorrent poor taste is surely prosecution-worthy?” said Lang.

The ASA branded the trivialising of events surrounding the disappearance of a child as a new-found low.

“Scandal and shock tactics are a tried and tested means of generating nefarious fame – especially on social. But there is a line, and anyone with half a brain and an understanding of brand worth can see that line a long way off,” Lang continued.

“Those in charge of marketing these organisations either need to unilaterally educate themselves or embed much more robust sign off procedures.”

“Oh, and the owner of The Otley Burger Company should make some sincere apologies, close his business and lock himself in a dark room for all eternity.”

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