Opinions - Getting a mouthful. The ten most complained-about ads of all time.

Published 31/05/2012

Kentucky Fried Chicken may well be an assault on the digestion and troubling to the waistband, but it seems its advertising is also offensive to a cross section of the viewing public. The Advertising Standards Authority has announced its list of the most complained-about ads of all time - and the Colonel's finger lickin' poultry tops the chart. Quite surprising, but in fact, the ASA's complete countdown is rather curious, so I thought a closer look was in order:

10. Barnardo's (2008)
477 complaints. Not upheld.

This spot, made by BBH, was certainly startling and literally, hard hitting. Portraying a young girl enduring a cycle of crime and drugs, her troubles are traced back to the violence she has suffered at the hands of her father. That almost 500 viewers chose to complain to the ASA about the film is as ironic as it is depressing. Claiming the ad was upsetting is rather like complaining that rain is wet. It's designed to be upsetting, hoping to prompt punters into action to prevent such horrors, rather than inspiring them to moan that their cosy suburban evening was ruffled by some unsettling truths.

http://youtu.be/yFOcrZeMRUU

9. Department of Energy and Climate Change (2010)
939 complaints. Upheld in part.

Quite how climate change can be prevented by advertising is a moot point, but I tend to view this spot as a political vanity project. That said, it is creatively pretty strong, with a smart script and tight execution. The complaints seem to stem from climate change deniers, angered by the panicked nature of the message. But if the intention is to change people's behaviour, you have to use an emotional trigger. Whether this ad will save the planet or is even a good use of taxpayers' cash, is debatable. Nevertheless, there's little here worthy of an official complaint.

http://youtu.be/0dOfBEm5DZU

8. Yves St Laurent 'Opium' (2000)
948 complaints. Upheld.

One doesn't have to be Jim Rockford to work out why some folks got all exercised about this poster. Here is Sophie Dahl in repose and stark blinking naked. There's also the suggestion she may be ... er ... entertaining herself. Perfume brands always enjoy playing with soft-focused sexuality and in fact, this execution is less cringe-making than most. Well lit, classy art direction, I like it. But we're in Britain where we always tie ourselves in knots about the sexy stuff. You can almost picture the red-faced complainants, seething over the sight of a human body, before returning to spying on their neighbours and reading the Daily Mail.

7. Volkswagen 'Fight' (2009)
1,070 complaints. Upheld in part.

To me, portrayals of violence are always more problematic than sex - and it's hard to think of a good excuse for using a punch-up in an ad. But this would be an exception because it is clearly a fantasy, what with the engineer having a scrap with alternative versions of himself and all that. It's an imaginative and unusual concept and a great ad - but post-watershed screenings may have been appropriate.

http://youtu.be/2UWMFz8QJ54

6. Marie Stopes 'Are You Late?' (2010)
1,088 complaints. Not upheld.

When people call for censure or censorship, they are often calling for the removal of messages with which they disagree. However, that is unacceptable in a free-speaking democracy and it is to the ASA's credit they rejected the complaints. Marie Stopes is an organisation which supports women who find themselves with unexpectedly pregnant, and abortion is one of the options they explain to their clients. As abortion is legal and available in the UK, there can't really be any reasonable grounds for complaining about this ad. That didn't stop almost 11000 people from doing so and I wonder how many were women.

http://youtu.be/lSH6wLDoE1w

5. British Safety Council 'Thou Shalt Always Wear a Condom' (1995)
1,192 complaints. Upheld.

This 1995 ad features the Pope wearing a hard hat over the line 'The Eleventh Commandment: thou shalt always wear a condom.' Obviously the Council, which was seeking to promote National Condom Week, realised shock tactics are a blunt but effective means of attracting attention and they succeeded here. My concern isn't with any perceived blasphemy (I always think major religions and their deities should be robust enough to shrug off satire), it's more that the concept is slightly weak and favours danger over creative thought and adequate design. Not a great campaign, but no reason to uphold complaints from the religious lobby.

4. The Christian party 'There Definitely is a God' (2009)
1,204 complaints. Not upheld.

A straight tit-for-tat row here. The Humanists had run a campaign which stated 'There is probably no God, so stop worrying and enjoy your life.' In response, the Christian Party wrote an ad in direct contradiction. This was absolutely their prerogative and complaints from atheists and agnostics didn't really do them any favours.

3. Paddy Power 'Blind Wanderers FC' (2010)
1,313 complaints. Not upheld.

You might imagine ads for gambling services attract objections because some feel gambling to be morally objectionable. But the complaints about this Paddy Power clip were inspired by the tasteless portrayal of a blind footballer kicking a cat, across a pitch. Obviously the cat was not real but still viewers thought the spot offensive to blind people and encouraged animal cruelty. The ASA disagreed.

http://youtu.be/DEmA_QF30GI

2. Auction World (2004)
1,360 complaints. Not upheld.

This was an open and shut case, as far as I can see. Auction World was a television shopping channel with a reputation for misleading pricing, poor customer service and terrible delivery practices. Their users took their rightful annoyance to the ASA which declined to uphold their complaints but referred the issue to broadcast regulator OFCOM which had no hesitation in fining Auction World and taking their licence away. Job done.

1. Yum Restaurants (UK) Ltd KFC 'Zinger' (2005)
1,671 complaints. Not upheld.

And we're back at KFC. For all the explicit imagery, dubious claims, hard selling and bad practice deployed in the name of advertising, it's amusing and typically British that our most profound ire is reserved for people speaking with their mouths full. Personally, I'm a bit phobic about watching and listening to other folk eating, so I wouldn't claim to enjoy this spot. However, neither would I ever consider making a complaint about it. I'm pleased to say I have more pressing matters on my mind. I hope you do too.

http://youtu.be/Bt4Mmu6iXZA

Talking about the list, ASA chairman Lord Smith of Finsbury said: "Our top 10 most complained-about ads of all time certainly reveal what gets the public talking, but even more important is the less glamorous day-to-day action we take to protect consumers from misleading advertising. Our commitment for the next 50 years will be the same as for the last: to keep UK ads legal, decent, honest and truthful. We're up for the task."

Just an afterthought. Consider the vast numbers of people exposed to broadcast and print advertising on a daily basis. Isn't it reassuring the most complained-about UK commercial attracted no more than 1600 objections?