It was the year for complaining about adverts that annoyed and offended us, apparently.
Around 5,600 complaints were received in 2014, the most since the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB) was established in 1998, but despite a record number of calls, none of these ads were actually offensive enough to get banned.
Should they have been? Judge for yourself:
1. Ashley Madison – Other Than My Wife.
We’re not surprised that the most-complained about advertisement in 2014 was for an online-dating website aimed at married people looking to have an affair – it received 481 complaints.
The ad was a video from Ashley Madison for Other Than My Wife. Here it is, in all its unethical glory.
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And with Ashley Madison sitting at number one – here are five more ads from the top 10 that we believe to be the best (or worst) from the most complained about.
myPlates Manproof – Man farting.
A man passes wind inside a car. After he’s passed wind the video freezes and a voice over comes on with the tagline, “Ladies, do you know what your man’s doing when he’s in your car?” It was an advertisement for female-themed number plates – teaching women how to ‘manproof’ their car.
A lot of people didn’t see the funny side and complained that the ad was sexist against the male population.
Here you go:
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myPlates Manproof – Man picking his nose.
The second ad by myPlates Manproof saw a man picking his nose (which I’m sure no woman has ever done in her life – ghastly). The video – titled Digging for Gold – shows a man digging for, well, ‘gold’ in his nose before pulling out a big nugget. Not knowing where to put the nugget – he wipes it on the side of the car door – it’s pretty gross.
And again, here you go:
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Ultratune – Ultra sexy ad for tyres.
Men pick their noses, apparently. And women? Women get turned on by tyres. This very tasteful video cuts to a tagline that says, “The word is out we’re now into rubber.” Subtle.
It’s on the list.
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Menulog – Last Supper satire.
Menulog is a company that provides an online takeaway service and they came up with the idea that the men at the last supper ordered takeaway online. While they probably thought it was creative genius – the ad made a lot of people unhappy. It received 228 complaints.
On. The. List.
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Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses – Billboard. (Image below may be distressing for some)
The final one on our list isn’t a video – it’s an image that sent a powerful message (a little too powerful for some) about the race horse industry. An image of a horse lying dead on its side with the words, “Is the party really worth it?” was hoisted on to a billboard after this year’s Melbourne Cup.
The image is below (it may be distressing for some):
“While people may not wish to see ‘ick-factor’ images of nose-picking or farting on TV, or about dating sites for married people, the content of these advertisements do not breach the Codes,” The ASB’s CEO Fiona Jolly said.
Some of them are funny and some of them have probably crossed the line. But here we are, giving them oxygen, which is the ultimate goal in advertising, right?
What do you think of the ads? Are they offensive to you?
Top Comments
I disliked the one for yoghurt where it showed people putting spoonfuls into there mouths then using the sounds of it in the mouth and the spoons used to eat it as some sort of disgusting jingle. I never want to see or hear your aggressive, forced chewing!
And anything that involves a man in a pair of speedos with a large beer gut hanging over the top, usually 'dancing' at a BBQ. Two come to mind. Double standard also comes to mind.
My pet hates:
Any Channel 7 ad for any Channel 7 program. Do we really need to be reminded at every commercial break that Million Dollar Minute is still on and that Mark Baretta doesn't know what came second in the national anthem referendum? Do we really need two months of ads promoting that upcoming, bitchy (sorry feminists, it's all I have at the moment), over-scripted, badly-caricatured "kitchen" show? Does anyone seriously believe there will be a ***shock** of any kind in the next installment of any program produced by Channel 7 given that every production they do must involve manufactured "controversy"?
The ad for a plastic bracelet which claims to utilise the "healing properties" of magnets. If blood was magnetic, we'd surely explode in an MRI machine that is so powerful it can drag a heavy hosptial gurney across the room and off the floor - wouldn't we?
But perhaps I just don't understand those strange universal forces that "may help" relieve some things.
Any ad with egregious spelling errors, like "complimentary" instead of "complementary".*
*Note: If internet laws have any merit, then I will have made egregious spelling errors in this comment. [see Skitt's Law].