Headlined "Discover the real Europe, not the clichés" the ad for the Belgian public broadcaster Canvas shows a caricature of television presenter Thomas Desoete, sporting a Hitler mustache, swastika armband and even swastika G-string - or what some news outlets refer to as a "stripper costume". The copy on the ad also suggest trying a test yourself, typing in the word "German" in google and see what comes up. "Test het self: Dit is de eerste bild dat je te zien als je op Google ‘Duitser’ intikt" (Try it yourself: this is the first image you'll see if you Google "German")
This isn't true - however I did get this lederhosen clad beer toasting flag waving mustache wearing German caricature when I googled "Duitser", so youknow, it was close.
According to hareetz.com the ad was "cancelled immediately" after the controversy surrounding the cooking show last month which was going to make Hitlers favorite dish (they never did due to protests), but a few of the ads had already been printed before they could be pulled. Anne Stroobants, head of the press communication department for the television channel Canvas told hareetz.com that they "didn't mean to offend anyone" and stressed the magazine ads were "satirical in nature".
There's an ad rule, ads with Hitler or the NYC WTC towers in them tend to automagically offend people. True.
The Coca Cola owned Oasis drink brand campaign about "Cactus kid" and his pregnant girlfriend has been banned by the ASA in the UK.
The ending to the story was chosen by Cactus kid fans at www.runcactuskidrun.com and aired the 22 August during the Big Brother show in the UK - making this a toothless ban indeed since the campaign has already officially ended anyway. This ad, it seems, was the final straw - the campaign received 32 complaints, which is apparently enough to get something off the air. It does make sense to kick Oasis a little for acting as if it is a relpacement for regular water. That ain't healthy.
A radio ad in the UK has been banned for being too quick!.
The Vodafone radio advertisement was banned after the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the 'disclaimer' was too difficult for listeners to understand as it was read very fast. You can listen to it at the BBC website
[Vodafone] contended that the radio advertising standard codes made no mention at which speed the legal terminology should be delivered.
They also said they did not believe their advertisement to be deceptive and in contravention of advertising legislation.
I think Disclaimer guy might want to step outside to have a word with the ASA. "Don't interrupt Disclaimer guy, I'm serious don't even test me, I'll bring the heavens down..."
"Zack and Miri Make a Porno" opened at the Toronto film festival last week and this poster - yes, this one on the left here - was banned because.. Well I don't even know why.
Silent Bob a.k.a Kevin Smith might just be getting his fingers slapped for putting the word "Porno" in the title here - he actually had to petition the film's rating down from NC-17 to R, and now this poster is banned by the MPAA. Whisky tango Foxtrot? The poster is humourous and fully clothed - though with two conspicuously placed heads. Is this deserving of a ban? What do you adgrunts think?
Only those who have done what is implied here might get - and if you've done it, I reckon it may be to late to save that kid with a rating. Girls are pregnant at the age of 17 - I think they might now what the woohoos and dodahs do.
I'd understand the ban if the "coming soon" was spelled differently. Puns like that are evil. ;)
Stockholm is currently party-town with Stockholm Pride festival in full swing. Sweden's Channel five are tagging along by showing pride-related films like Transamerica, and TV shows like "Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World". Absolut Vodka have released a rainbow colored bottle which is prominently displayed in the Swedish state operated liquor stores - but that isn't due to the Prideparty in Stockholm, instead the rainbow bottle is to celebrate that it is 30 years ago that Gilbert Baker of San Francisco designed a flag with six stripes representing the six colours of the rainbow as a symbol of gay and lesbian community pride.
Meanwhile, lots of ads are being pulled due to homophobia or offending homosexual people.
First there was that Heinz "New York deli mom" ad kiss. Or rather - peck. Mom of the house - as always making lunch bags for the kids and the hubby in the kitchen where else would mom be? - has been replaced by a stereotypical Noo Yawka deli man. When Dad is about to rush off to work without kissing the missus, Noo Yawka Deliman says "hey, aren't you forgetting something?" and there is the kiss. 200 people missed the joke and reported the "gay kiss" as offensive and "inappropriate to see two men kissing". Heinz withdrew the ad and and apologised to viewers.
While not everything in black and white makes sense - that this ad is fake fake not paid for by Guiness is dead obvious on first viewing.
Sure enough, the director explains further down in the comments that it's "just a joke". Using someone elses trademarked brand. Not a parody or anything. Hmm. Might that cause legal troubles for DESchatz?
It really isn't real. I shot the ad with no intention of sending it to Guiness because of the content. IT was meant to either make people laugh or get really disgusted. I rather people felt the former because that's why it was made. Just for fun.
Oh and it only cost $320 for the ad. My equipment, 300 for the actress, and the rest for food and a six pack of Guiness
Then DiageoMarketingCode pops in and leaves a comment:
"Please be assured that Guinness is in no way associated with this video, and has approached YouTube to have it removed. We are proud of our brand, and our commitment to responsible marketing, and this is not how we want our brand portrayed. For further information, check out our marketing code at Diageo's website."
And DESchatz defends himself:
"Please understand that this was never meant to go this far as in terms of many viewers. This isn't a legitimate ad considering the glitches of the spot. In no way or form was there though of sending the idea to Guiness. This was meant for a good laugh. It shouldn't get more serious than that."
The biggest glitch in the spot (apart from the serious brand disconnect) is the sound, it's bloody horrible. And how naive are you when you think something with sex in it won't get that many viewers on youtube?
Last weeks "duh, obviously fake" ads for Bayer's Bepanthen first aid cream have been officially named fakes by JWT who've even released an official statement about them - as if ads depicting parents roasting their babies over fire, with blowtorches or burning a la marshmallows on a stick would ever have been approved - c'mon!
The campaign was first posted june 16th here on Adland, and like the (very similar) Amnesty International - After the Olympics campaign (posted 14th of March 2008) it didn't receive much attention at all, until about month later (12th July) when a new adgrunt - whole9yards - spotted something wrong with the images and left a comment about it. The photos in the campaign were shot in Nepal, and not in China.
The campaign then quickly took on a life on it's own, appearing in forums such as Anti-CNN.com, HK Yahoo.com, LKCN portal, bbs.hdpu.edu.cn, and even spawning facebook groups like this one*. For the extra curious who can't read chinese, you might find the worldlingo translator useful when trying to make out what is going on in some of those threads.
You'd think it couldn't be done, the "Lowering of dignity" bit that is, but the annoying ringtone with the equally annoying ad from Peach mobile which shows president Robert Mugabe as a caged gorilla has been canned. Peachmobile protested, saying that they had a constitutional "right to mock Mugabe because he is a despot." (From The Times: ‘Racist’ ringtone advert banned)
The ASA found, "... the respondent is infringing on the rights of Robert Mugabe by portraying him in an offensive an undignified manner and as such the commercial is demeaning and lowering Robert Mugabe's dignity. A hypothetical reasonable person would be offended on viewing the commercial as it unnecessarily and intentionally demeans Robert Mugabe."
The ASA ordered that the commercial be withdrawn immediately.
Italy's advertising watchdog, the Institute for Advertising Self-Discipline (IAP), has banned Tom Ford Eyewear ads from national media. A close-up photo of a woman wearing the brand's sunglasses with a man's finger in her mouth was deemed by IAP to be "markedly vulgar" and, as such, it "transcends the limits of simple bad taste and offends the sensibility" of viewers. In addition, the committee believes the "scene evokes an offending and abusive act against women, which degrades the dignity of the person." IAP also said the sexual innuendo and provocative edge are part of a campaign based on these kinds of images, noting that the brand's Web site itself describes the spring-summer campaign photos as "sexually explicit." Vincenzo Guggino, general secretary at IAP, said the images were banned after publication last month in three magazines, including Italian Vogue. "Fashion companies very rarely present their ads for inspection before they appear in the media," said Guggino. "Our mission is to promote better and more acceptable communication." .
All 40.000 commercials in the commercial archive are in Apple's free and fab Quicktime player format.
You should download Quicktime if you don't already have it.
More than 300 viewers have complained about a Barnardo's advert showing a father repeatedly slapping his daughter around the head.
The Advertising Standards Authority expects further complaints and says it is one of the 10 most reported ads this year - despite only being on air for two weeks. The ASA said: "People find the graphic violence very distressing. We have launched a formal investigation, looking into taste and decency guidelines."
"Zack and Miri Make a Porno" opened at the Toronto film festival last week and this poster - yes, this one on the left here - was banned because.. Well I don't even know why. 
Stockholm is currently party-town with 
