The Most Controversial Ads of 2007

A BBC web article has written up a helpful summary of the 14,080 complaints made last year to the Advertising Standards Authority.  Sex and violence predictably dominated viewers concerns.  ‘Greenwash’ is also an increasing irritation to the public.

Part of the skill of advertising is to catch the attention of the public by using striking images, poses and ideas.  But how far can this go?  How far should it go?  The law stipulates in some cases (for instance, an advert for alcoholic drinks cannot go so far as to say that it will make you more attractive to the opposite sex).  In other cases, the boundary of what is tasteful is, well, a matter of taste.  I’m pretty hard to offend - I don’t think any of the controversial adverts this year are too bad – but personally, I find that the FCUK slogan makes me cringe.  See what you think:

10 Most Controversial Ads - BBC

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