A whopping six people complained about a billboard campaign in New Zealand for Alibi Jeans by King Street Advertising. The Advertising Standards Complaints Board has now labelled the ads offensive.

One of the complainees was concerned about school children and the general public being exposed to "this level of gratuitous sexual intent".

"The lump under the sheet where his genitals would be leaves no doubt as to her intention," the complainant said.

However, Alibi Jeans said the concept showed "the empowerment of women using a typically male scenario".

Read on to see the "offensive ad".

An ad encouraging men to get checked for prostate cancer, starring Ricky Gervais, comedian with a past as a new wave popstar now most famous for his role as David Brent in "The Office", has banned from radio waves before nine pm as it was too offensive.. A soundeffect has also been removed from the ad - a 'squish' noise - to santize the ad. Why? Well it's a touchy subject (pun intended) I guess. The sound effect is in the ad as Ricky who plays the doctor is inserting a finger to check the prostate.

The Solid Rock church in Johannesburg has been running ads claiming that "people are now getting healed of Aids or cancer, diabetics, broken bones, heart, back and many other problems are instantly healed in the name of Jesus Christ."

A complaint against unsubstantiated claims was brought to the ASA which has banned the ad until the church can produce irrefutable evidence to support those claims.

Solid Rock pastor Johan van Wyk said the advert was placed in a Johannesburg community newspaper after two people were carried into the church dying of Aids.

"They walked out of our church and walked back in the next week. The church presented sworn affidavits of healings, including a doctor's certificate in the case of a congregant who has been healed of Aids."

This week was a banner week in the UK for banning radio ads that have helium related themes.

One radio ad was for MasterCard. It featured a man singing over the phone in a high-pitched voice to his girlfriend and followed their "priceless" campaign. There were two complaints.

The other spot was for Travelocity, a part of the "Alan Whicker" Traveling Gnome campaign. In the ad the gnome is enjoying a ride in a helium balloon, and he says "speaking of helium it's the perfect stuff to help me tell you all about Travelocity in a short commercial." There was one complaint.

(Read on for more...)

Local councillors didn't see the funny in the billboards for UKTV's 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition', and want them taken down.

The posters depicts a framed floral cross-stitch with headlines like "Bless this crack house", "There's no place like home for a gangland slaying" and "Home Sweet Derelict Trailer Park".

The leader of Lambeth Council, councillor Peter Truesdale said that the campaign should be stopped and said: "Crack houses should be closed down, not glorified on billboards. We have a zero-tolerance policy on crack houses and this kind of advertising is poking fun at the work of the council and police."

Lambeth's deputy leader Cllr John Whelan chimed in: "Crack houses are a serious matter across Lambeth and this form of advertising is highly offensive and in no means funny for passersby, faith groups, and residents of the borough."

The council will file a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority. Wanna bet on a ban in the end?

This ad from the folks at Bos was recently banned by Telecaster (the agency responsible for approving TV ads in canada).

Aaah, too many pun possibilities here, pun-overload!

Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R has ticked off Pfizer and Viagra by using their familiar little blue bill shape as a visual in an ad poster for Virgin airlines. In their poster, the pill is inscribed with "Virgin" and the copy reads: "Virgin Upper Class Suite. The biggest, firmest, longest bed in business."

Pfizer didn't see the funny in that and complained saying the diamond shape is trademarked and these Virgin posters are infringing on Pfizer's intellectual property. Virgin has agreed to remove the posters within the next few days. Another Virgin poster they'll no longer run reads: "We're bigger than BA in the bedroom department".

click on image for a larger version.

The UK advertising watchdog Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced our favorite toplist on Tuesday by releasing their annual report. Top honor goes to an ad shilling mince meat pies, which became the most complained about advert in the UK last year.

In the TV commercial for Mr Kipling's mince pies, Mary is seen giving birth in what seems to be a hospital but is later revealed the be a church hall. More than 800 people were offended and complained, the advert was judged to have breached advertising codes and was withdrawn.

As if to cement it's mythical cult status Cillit Bang has lucked out completely and gotten their ad banned by the ASA.
It is the scene with the penny that is causing trouble, the advert claims that it can make "an old penny good as new" in only 15 seconds. The Advertising Standards Agency said the claim was "exaggerated" and that the advert was "oversimplified and misleading". It ruled it must not be shown again in that form. The Cillit Bang company defended itself by saying that the voiceover unintentionally "oversimplified the chemistry". Too little too late.
Cillit Bang's logo is available on a range of badges and t-shirts as ironic hipster kid gear, and will probably only become more hip now.

See the windows media video over at LuckyKazoo.

Previous Cillit Bang fame: Cillit Bang, the hardcore cleaning sensation! links to the Cillt Bang dance remix.

The Scotsman reports that a furniture shop's poster with the slogan "sofakinggood" was banned today. The Advertising Standards Authority banned the poster stating it could be viewed as containing swearing and "was likely to cause serious or widespread offence". It received seven complaints.

The company had argued it used the slogan because it sold sofas, its customers considered it to be "king" and it was "good" at its trade.

This isn't a new thing for this company either. Above is an ad from last year using the same idea for their company slogan - "Sofa King Low"

Media Guardian reports that the Marmite "Love it or Hate it" Blob spot was pulled from kids' TV. The ad, created by DDB London, spoofs the classic 1950s sci-fi horror film The Blob has been banned from kids' TV and TV shows kids' might be viewing (like Pop Idol) because it gave children nightmares. And it terrified two- and three-year-olds into refusing to watch television, the Advertising Standards Authority said.

The ad shows a large blob of Marmite squelching its way through the center of a busy main street, with some who try to out run it and others who happily run towards it and dive in head first. The ad can be viewed here at Marmite's web site.

When it first appered in Italy last month the city of Milan didn't take too long to ban the poster from appearing there. Now that the campaign reached France the Catholic Church there sprung into action at once and took the offending ad to court. The judge ruled that the ad was "a gratuitous and aggressive act of intrusion on people's innermost beliefs". The prosecuting lawyer agreed: "Tomorrow, Christ on the cross will be selling socks."

Blackspots advertising campaign seems to be centered around getting banned, something that happens a lot to AdBusters ads actually, they have more than ten years of experience in getting ads refused from big networks. It's the reasons for not airing the ads that really crack us up though, the 15 second animated ads were rejected by the fux at FOX and the empty MTV because, as FOX put it, they are "too jumpy".

Who knew, jumpy is now too risque, and that's even without any breasts or nipples involved. Does FOX think the fuzzy animation has some strange hypnotic powers beyond advertisings usual persuasion?
Maybe they think it's like that video in the Japanese horror flick "Ringu" and it has special powers...... Read more to see the "jumpy" animation.

It's all over the google news sources that China has banned the latest Lebron Nike ads as they are a national insult. The ads "violates regulations that mandate that all advertisements in China should uphold national dignity and interest and respect the motherland's culture," the State Administration for Radio, Film and Television said on its Web site Monday. "It also goes against rules that require ads not to contain content that blasphemes national practices and cultures." Much like that Toyota Poster that insulted chinese consumers a year ago.
For Super adgrunts, all the versions of the commercial including the 90 second full one are in the commercial archive. Check out the full one first.

The Newspaper Marketing Agency ad nicknamed "killer heels", created by TBWA London, which shows a man spiked on a stiletto has been banned by the ever vigilant watchdog ASA.
The ad received 81 complaints it was offensively sexist and overly violent. The ASA said about the ad "featuring an oversized stiletto-heeled shoe skewering a businessman in a pool of blood was offensive because it trivialised and stylised violence." Despite the visual pun being 'cartoon-like' to avoid offence, people objected to the ad. "The advertisers claimed that, because the image was removed from reality and in a fashion context, it would not be seen to condone or encourage violence or homicide" the ASA said... And probably added under their breath "boy we're they wrong..." (to see it, read more as usual)

Claymore quipped: FDA: "Wild Thing, I think I banned you!"...
This ad probably has, due to FDAs late reaction, pulled in quite a few new customers already.

Yeah, THAT guy.....

the FDA said Pfizer implied that the male seen in the ads had returned to a previous level of sexual desire and activity.
US FDA Tells Pfizer to Pull 'Wild Thing' Viagra Ads
"FDA is not aware of substantial evidence or substantial clinical experience demonstrating this benefit for patients who take Viagra,"

A judge has ordered Pepsi to withdraw a television commercial that has angered child-labour activists. The commercial depicts a ten-year old boy carrying pepsi to the Indian cricket team, negotiating a difficult route to them, finally emerging from an underground tunnel.

"We are against multinationals using children in advertising that shows child labour in a positive light," said activist Santosh Shinde of the Mumbai-based voluntary group Balpraful. They launched a petition in Hyderabad, where a judge ruled it should be withdrawn.

A spokesperson for Pepsi said: "The boy is obviously delighted to get an opportunity to deliver drinks to the idolised team members. It is unfortunate that the advert has caused some anxiety despite the fact that there was no such intention."

"The India media and the ad agencies are irresponsible," said Uma Bhopal Rai, who filed the petition. "They just can't convey the message that it is all right for children to work instead of being at school. They make it acceptable. The fact that millions of viewers watch them and think it is okay makes me shudder."
source: pressrelease

Update: Found it! As of this posting, the commecial can be found here.

Aguilera's naughty nurse ad shelved says the Ireland online.

Sandy Summers, executive director of the Center For Nursing Advocacy said: "This ad simultaneously exploits the 'naughty nurse' and the battleaxe/Nurse Ratched stereotypes, setting the nurse up both as an available sex object and a mock-malevolent authority figure, rather than a competent professional."

While technically not a ban a withdrawn ad fits in this topic. Hat tip to Claymore. Wanna see the ad? Read more.

SFGate reports that the Chevy Corvette ad directed by Guy Ritchie has become a PR nightmare. The ad shows the daydream of a young lad - clearly too young to drive - taking a sleek Chevy corvette for a fast flying ride to the tunes of Jumpin' Jack Flash. Consumer safety groups protested saying "This ad is certainly among the most dangerous, anti-safety messages to be aired on national television in recent years", and Chevy yanked it off the air.

The ad can be viewed by super adgrunts here.

SPECIAL NOTE: Super towards the bottom of the screen at the beginning of the spot: "This is a dream. Do not drive without a license. Obey all traffic laws."

Nike's new global ad, a spot on depiction of giggly teenage girls that have a crush on their handsome tennis instructor, has been withdrawn, due to it's terrible timing really. Less than two weeks ago, high-profile tennis coach Gavin Hopper was jailed for three-and-a-half years for indecently assaulting a 14-year-old student in the mid-1980s and somehow this ad reminds people of that. Nike has apologised for the "insensitive" ad Stuff.co.nz reports;

"We have decided to axe the commercial in question given current community concerns regarding recent events and our own position on the matter," Nike Australia Managing Director Tony Balfour said in a statement."We apologise to those who have been offended by the television commercial."

The commercial can be viewed here in the commercial archive by super adgrunts. The timid teenagers all turn into hard hitting Serena Williams in their bid to impress their instructor. The tagline explains "You are faster than you think".