Companies spend a fortune on advertising their products and services and – in the case of those arty perfume adverts that seem to have nothing at all to do with perfume, advertising their brand.

Worldwide, companies spent $500 billion on advertising in 2016, so you can understand why advertising agencies are eager to come up with something eye-catching and original for their clients. No-one wants to play it safe and lose out on a contract – especially if your prospective client is one of the big industry spenders, like AT&T or General Motors, which spent $3.3bn and $3.1bn respectively, in 2015.

However, sometimes ad agencies and their “creatives” – the people who actually come up with the ideas – go a little too far in their efforts to appear cutting edge, and end up creating an advert that is so offensive the client has no option but to out rightly reject it. Sometimes, the client loves the idea but they soon find that the general public doesn’t agree, when that advert generates complaints and is eventually banned.

As they say in the industry, however, there is no such thing as bad publicity, and having a banned advert can end up securing the product or brand more attention than they could have expected! Let’s now look at 15 most offensive banned and rejected ads

15. Paddy Power’s Ad Of Jesus And His Disciples Gambling At The Last Supper

Betting company Paddy Power are well known for their cheeky advertising campaigns, but they went too far in 2001 when one of their ads was banned. The image in question showed two elderly women on a pedestrian crossing, with a rather ominous-looking 4×4 bearing down on them. Paddy Power gave the two women odds, suggesting in their usual tongue-in-cheek way that one had a better chance of making it across alive than the other! This is not the only time Paddy Power has been in trouble over their adverts. An image of Jesus and his disciples gambling at the last supper was also banned in 2005.

14. Violent Killer Heels Advertised By The Newspaper Marketing Agency

When it comes to the battle of the sexes, ads are more likely to be considered offensive to women than men. Not so with the “Killer Heels” advert from the Newspaper Marketing Agency – a group which ironically acts to promote the value of advertising in the UK broadcast press. The image was of a towering stiletto shoe, the heel of which had stabbed a businessman through his middle, while a pool of his blood collected at the base of the shoe. It wasn’t clear what this had to do with newspaper advertising, and the image generated several complaints about its violent imagery, before it was eventually banned.

13. Six Feet Under Ad That Used Dead Bodies

Promotional adverts for the popular TV series “Six Feet Under” were banned in 2003 for being “shocking and offensive”. The images were spoofs of beauty adverts, using models which had been made up to look like dead bodies to promote fake products using the tagline “Beauty to die for”. As well as the shocking nature of the images, which featured realistic-looking corpses, the authorities also banned the advert because they felt they were too convincing, and that the public might think they were advertising real cosmetic products, rather than promoting a TV show.

12. Currency Controversy In A Russian Finance Magazine Ad

Russian Finance magazine fell afoul of the Moscow Committee for advertising and information in 2003, when a poster campaign promoting its publication was ruled to be immoral. 100 posters which had already been put up in public places around the city had to be torn down and they were banned from using the offending image again. And what was this terrible and offensive image? It was the symbol for the Euro in what can only be described as a compromising position with the dollar sign. The publisher denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the symbols were only dancing, but no-one was convinced…

11. Rules Of Attraction Promo Used Cute Stuffed Animals In Suggestive Positions

Hollywood is well known for its liberal attitudes towards a lot of things – but the rest of America isn’t so chilled, especially when it comes to using cute stuffed animals to promote a movie about sex and relationships. One of the initial posters for the 2002 film “Rules of Attraction” starring James van der Beek and Jessica Biel, featured stuffed bears, bunnies and other animals in very suggestive positions – and the tagline “We all run on instinct”. An appropriate image, given the film’s content, but one that didn’t make it past the advertising watchdogs, who gave the poster a thumbs down.

10. Anti-Smoking Ad Used Two Cigarettes To Depict 9/11

The image of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center after 9/11 is one of the most iconic and recognizable of modern times. However, that doesn’t mean you should use it in an advert, as one New Zealand ad agency found out when they tried to do just that. They had been tasked to create an anti-smoking advert, and decided to replace the Twin Towers buildings with smoking cigarettes, and the strapline “No More Killing”. Unsurprisingly, there were many complaints about the insensitivity of using 9/11 to promote anything – even a good cause – and the advert was soon pulled.

9. Breast Cancer Awareness Ad Used A Sexy Model With A Mastectomy Scar

Amazingly, an advert for the Breast Cancer Fund was banned by media giant Viacom in the US, as they claimed that the public would find the image used in the ad too shocking. And just what was this shocking image that would so offend the people of the United States? Well, the Breast Cancer Fund had cleverly used a sexy model, wearing skimpy underwear, revealing that where her left breast should be, she actually had a mastectomy scar. As a way of raising awareness of the condition, and hopefully saving more lives, it could have been very effective – if not for the misplaced morals at the head of Viacom!

8. Dolce & Gabbana Ad That Looked Like Gang Rape

The fashion industry frequently gets into trouble for its adverts, which often feature scantily clad men and women. A bit ironic, when you think that they’re trying to sell us clothes! A Dolce & Gabbana advert was banned in 2015, not just because of what the models were (or weren’t) wearing, but because of the position in which they were photographed. A female model was being held on the floor, while male models stood around watching. Although D&G protested otherwise, many of those who complained felt that the image was degrading and that it looked more like a gang rape than a fashion shoot.

7. Barnado’s Ad Showing A Child With A Cockroach In Its Mouth To Depict Poverty

Children’s charity Barnardo’s had one of their advertising campaigns banned in 2003, after the advertising authorities ruled that the images they were using to raise awareness of child poverty could cause offence – although some would argue child poverty should cause offence. Among the images Barnardo’s used was a mocked-up photo of a baby with a cockroach in its mouth; a play on the “silver spoon” that well off kids are said to be born with in their mouths. Despite the good that such a hard-hitting campaign could have done to raise money for Barnardo’s, and raise awareness of child poverty generally, the ads were all banned.

6. Roger More By Durex

Condom manufacturer Durex came up with a fun and very clever way to promote their product – only to have all their hard work dumped on the scrap heap when the UK public completely failed to see the funny side. The condoms were a new brand, designed to “prolong sexual excitement” and the advert used an image of inflated condoms spelling out the words “roger more” – a play on the name of the James Bond actor – to advertise their unique selling point. However, after receiving complaints that the posters were offensive, and even sexist, the ad campaign was pulled.

5. SlimFast Ad On Fat Brides

Weight loss aid SlimFast went too far in its 2010 campaign, targeting blushing brides looking to shift a few more pounds before their big day. The advert featured a cute cake topper couple – only in this case, the bride was apparently so fat she had broken through the icing and disappeared into the cake below, leaving her (slim) groom to try and pull her out of the hole. Another ad featured a cake topper groom who was struggling to carry his bride over the threshold. Needless to say, both ads were the subject of complaints of sexism which led to them being banned.

4. WWF Ad Used 9/11 Image To Raise Awareness Of Tsunami Death Toll

Conservation charity WWF also came under fire for using the image of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in an effort to promote awareness of the death toll from the 2004 tsunami. While no-one can deny the value of their cause, illustrating their campaign with a picture of a pre-9/11 New York with dozens of airplanes about to fly into its many skyscrapers and buildings was not the way to do it. Although the ad never actually appeared in the press, WWF were forced to admit that they had initially approved the ad, before having very wise second thoughts before publication.

3. Ashley Madison’s Ads Always Rejected By Super Bowl

Ashley Madison is a controversial service – a website designed to help married people have an affair – so it is hardly surprising that their now annual attempts to have an advert screened during the Superbowl are always rejected. Even their proposal for a more “subtle” advert to be placed in the match programme at the 2009 event was refused. The ad featured a scantily dressed woman leaning over a football with the tag line “Who are you doing after the game?” Ashley Madison get more than enough publicity from their annual Super Bowl rejections, however, to be too concerned about the damage to their brand.

2. Yves St Laurent Ad Banned For Using A Dangerously Underweight Model

You need to be super skinny if you’re going to be a model, although the public is rightly concerned about the impact this is having on the mental health of ordinary young women, not to say the physical health of the models themselves. It is for this reason that an Yves St Laurent advert was banned in 2015 for using a model who was described as “unhealthily underweight” – so thin that you could see her ribs under the open jacket she was wearing. The authorities ruled that the advert was irresponsible and banned it – although the fashion industry still keeps on using unhealthily thin girls in their fashion shoots and events.

1. Bacardi’s Sexist Beer Ad

Bacardi failed to spot the blatant sexism in their ad campaign “Better than Beer”,which was launched in 2008. Although the idea was, of course, to suggest that Bacardi rum was better than beer, their mistake was in using a photo shopped image of an attractive three-breasted woman to promote their new slogan – suggesting that she was also “better than beer”. Aside from the anger at the suggestion that normal two-breasted women just couldn’t compete with any alcohol, beer or Bacardi, there were also lots of complaints that the image of the scantily clad girl was demeaning, and as a result, the ad was soon pulled.