A 2005 television advert for KFC is the most complained about advertisement of all time, according to the Advertising Standards Authority.


The advert, which shows call centre workers eating the Colonel’s secret recipe chicken and singing with their mouths full, received 1,671 complaints – primarily from people complaining that the commercial encouraged bad manners in children.

The complaints were rejected by the ASA who concluded that even though the KFC commercial was “not in everyone’s taste”, the actions of the featured actors were unlikely to change the behaviour of children, nor diminish the authority their parents have over them.

A 2004 ad for the Auction World shopping channel takes second place after 1,360 customers complained about misleading guide prices and delayed deliveries, prompting Ofcom to revoke their broadcasting licence. Another 1,313 people contacted the ASA to voice their concerns about a 2010 Paddy Power advert that featured a blind footballer kicking a cat across the pitch, a move that earned the gambling company the unenviable third spot.

Other ads to make the top ten included The Christian Party’s 2009 “There is definitely a God” campaign, which riled atheists, and the British Safety Council’s “Thou shalt always wear a condom” ads in 1995, which offended a number of Roman Catholics.

The list was compiled to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the advertising watchdog, which in total received 431,000 complaints over the last half century. Last year the ASA received 31,458 complaints, the highest number in a single year. The watchdog attributed the rising number to an extension of its remit which now includes online and social media.

The most complained about advert of 2011 was a Phones 4 U television commercial that featured a haunting ghost-like girl. None of the 600 or more complaints were upheld with the ASA ruling that the commercial may cause “unease” but should be shown after 7:30pm.


ASA chairman Lord Smith of Finsbury said: “Our top 10 most complained-about ads of all time certainly reveal what gets the public talking, but even more important is the less glamorous day-to-day action we take to protect consumers from misleading advertising. Our commitment for the next 50 years will be the same as for the last: to keep UK ads legal, decent, honest and truthful. We’re up for the task.”