The ten most controversial ads of 2008

This article discusses the ten ads that attracted most complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority, the UK industry watchdog, in 2008.

The ten most controversial ads of 2008

Stephen WhitesideWARC Online

The Advertising Standards Authority, the British advertising industry watchdog, received a record 26,433 complaints last year, 9.3% more than the total recorded in 2007.

Some 15,556 different ads were brought to the organisation's attention by consumers and companies in the UK, with 2,475 being either changed or withdrawn as a result.

Ads making "misleading claims" were the subject of 12,942 objections, a figure falling to 8,831 for issues relating to "offensiveness," and 2,926 for executions perceived as being in some way "harmful."

Broadcast spots were the subject...

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands