High-profile advertising scandals

Offensive and scandalous advertising has been around for a long time, probably since the birth of business. There are billboards that outrage the public, controversial commercials that raise questions. It’s all controversial and speculative, but it’s memorable for the long term. But the viral technique will only flourish.

Is such a move justified? There is no definite answer, but there are examples worth considering.

Fashion junkie by Sisley’s

A maximally well-designed poster in 2007 caused a huge scandal. It got to the point where the brand simply denied its involvement.

The poster showed girls sniffing a white waistcoat, a hint of drugs and alcohol. But the brand went on to say that it denied any involvement and there was nothing to do with the image.

It is still unclear what happened, whether it was really the work of the company. Or maybe the brand has fallen victim to detractors?

The arrival of white from Sony’s Dutch

It’s pretty hard to argue in this case, regardless of the versions. There’s a European woman grabbing a dark-skinned woman by the hair and showing superiority. That’s what the title suggests – The Coming of the White Man. But is this really Sony’s idea?

One must always be aware of the risks and weigh the pros and cons. This is especially true nowadays when an ad appears in a small country but can quickly go viral.

 In fact, if black dominated, it wouldn’t change anything. It offended many bloggers and viewers and there were numerous discussions.

Girls gagged by Ford Motors

Sexual assault is not new to advertising, it’s a familiar move. But it’s a shock, but still a move that gets attention.

And Ford has used caricatures of famous personalities and a snide driver waving a PEACE sign in its ad. That would be OK, but the man strongly resembles Berlusconi, who at the time was accused of sexual misconduct.

The authors soon apologised for the work done, claiming there was no subtext or allusion to famous people. In fact, it is hard to say that such a move could actually have a positive effect.

Coal doughnuts from Dunkin

There was a lot of outrage and indignation at the time of this bizarre advertisement. All because of the image of a dark-skinned woman. Although the author himself accused Americans of being paranoid because he did not see anything wrong in using the image of the past. An apology did follow.