When It Doesn’t Feel So Good Being Bad – It’s 2023’s Top Banned Ads

We all like a little spice in our lives, but some advertisers put a little bit too much spice in their ads this year and ruined the dish – that is to say, they were banned. Others were just outright racist and offensive so were also rightfully banned.

We know you’re a bunch of rebels here at B&T so rather than leaving the banned ads in a murky, shameful corner of the internet, we decided to bring them out of their shadows and judge them harshly.

The Streisand effect holds that banning or censoring things just makes them all the more wanted, so maybe these advertisers are geniuses, skilled and adept in the world of human psychology.

Either way, for your viewing, please see the best (or worst) banned ads:

Magic Touch – Banned TV Ads

It is estimated that 60 per cent of adults harbour s*xual fantasies about control, coercion and restraint, so it is little wonder that s*x toy distributor Magic Touch wanted to capitalise on this in its TV ads.

Its two adverts (a 30-second one and a 15-second one) featured couples doing several things together. In one such image, a woman is seen opening a door (whilst holding a flogger) to see a man kneeling on a bed blindfolded with a ball gag in his mouth.

The objections to the ad were admittedly less about the content, but more about the time of day that it was shown.

One such viewer said: “Ads should be shown after the watershed of 9pm. Not suitable for children. Not appropriate for the time slot. Children could be watching and not something I want to watch when eating my lunch”.

The ad was initially shown around lunchtime.

The Ad Standards Community panel upheld the complaint and said the ad can only be shown between the hours of midday and 3pm or 7:30pm –6:00am on school days and 7:30pm- 6:00am on weekends and school holidays.

Rumour has it that Magic Touch liked being told off.

Hungry Jack’s Stops Traffic, And Stops Its Ad From Being Published

This genius ad from Hungry Jack’s was meant to show the traffic-stopping power of the Hungry Jack’s burger.

This TV spot depicted a woman driving a car and looking over at her passenger who was eating a burger. A road worker with a stop sign yells to get her attention and she abruptly stops. She makes a heart sign with her hands to say she is sorry, when he looks unimpressed she then holds her hands like she is holding a burger. He turns the stop sign to allow them to go, and they pass him a burger through the window of the car.

You’d think this advert would be all good right? Well, it was, until the road safety Karens got involved.

One viewer said: “For roadworkers reckless driving resulting in accidents which cause serious injury or death is a serious concern. I don’t know one road worker who hasn’t been hit by a car working on the road ( I work for a company in the industry). To make a serious social problem frivolous is disrespectful to the individuals and families who’s lives have been destroyed by people not taking care at roadworks. We don’t make ‘near misses’ better with a whopper. Reckless driving endangering lives should not be laughed off. Do better”.

Ad Standards agreed with the complaint, “finding that the advertisement breached Section 2.6 of the Code” relating to health and safety.

Good Folk Brewing Co’s Tone Deaf Ad

With global movements such as #BlackLivesMatter, the world has become increasingly aware of the impact of both conscious and unconscious racist bias.

Thankfully it seems like things are finally improving. However, it looks like Good Folk Brewing didn’t quite get the memo.

Its Facebook ad featured a close-up image of a black can being held by a woman. The caption for the post read, “Once you go black…”.

Naturally, the ad picked up complaints with one person saying: “This has incredibly racist connotations by the phrase ‘once you go black’. I am appalled that someone would think this was acceptable in this day and age”.

The panel upheld the complaint and the company responded by saying that the “ad has been removed – in no way did we set out to offend anyone. If that was the case we removed the ad instantly,” it added the ad was “a play on words about our black beer and not in any way racist towards people”.

Leaf Chief Misses The Mark With Awkward Ad

Another one that missed the memo on racial stereotyping.

Herbal shop Leaf Chief featured an advert with a cartoon image of a person in a feather headdress smoking a pipe.

Someone complained with the simple but powerful “It is racist and offensive”.

The panel upheld the complaint, saying “The panel considered that there is no apparent connection between Native American culture and the business being promoted. The Panel considered that this type of cultural appropriation is ridiculing of culture and cultural traditions.

The Panel considered that using cultural stereotypes in this manner suggests that this culture holds little worth and significance, and can be mocked and exploited for comedic effect and commercial purposes. The Panel considered that turning cultural beliefs into comedic stereotypes can be harmful to minority populations.

The Panel considered that the advertisement did humiliate and incite ridicule of Native American people.”

Etto Hand Cleaner Introduces Bestiality To The Mix 

How can you make something as boring as hand cleaner s*xy? By introducing some bestiality of course.

Australian cosmetics brand Etto has had two of its adverts banned following concerns around their sexual content and nature.

Ad Standards found that the ads, spruiking the company’s Pure Oil Spray hand cleaner, breached section 2.2 and 2.4 of the Australian Association of National Advertisers’ code of conduct.

The above advert breached section 2.2, saying the ad employed sexual appeal “in a manner which is exploitative or degrading.”

The complaints about the ad said that it is “oppressive” and it “conjures thoughts of pornography and bestiality. The image harks back to the 1970s and earlier. Has there been no progression in the advertising industry on the portrayal of women.”

Health Insurer Gets Red Card For Using Image Of Murderer 

A UK one here, but we couldn’t not have it on the list.

A health insurance ad that used imagery of Britain’s worst-ever mass murderer was banned by the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The social media ad for life insurance firm Dead Happy first appeared in January (read B&T’s original reporting HERE) and featured an image of the notorious Harold Shipman, a British GP who was convicted of killing 15 of his elderly patients but was suspected of killing as many as 260 people.

Shipman was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2000, however hanged himself in jail four years later.

Dead Happy’s ad, which first circulated on Facebook, comes with the caption: “Life Insurance. Because you never know who your doctor might be”, and features a large photograph of Shipman.

ASA said it received 115 complaints about the ad and promptly banned it.