Ten ads that made us mad: Nude Sophie Dahl to Pope in a hard hat... they brought most complaints in 50 years



A blind footballer kicking a cat and call centre workers singing with their mouths full are among the stars of the most controversial adverts of the past 50 years.

Abortion clinics, the Pope in a hard hat and a naked Sophie Dahl also feature in the first chart of the most complained about promotions of all time.

The details are revealed today by industry watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority, which has been criticised for its liberal approach and failure to support complaints from the public.

The top ten most unpopular ads...

1. Marie Stopes International (2010)

Total complaints: 4,688 (including petitions). Theme: Pregnancy advice. Complaint: Promoted abortion . Decision: Not upheld.



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2. KFC (Yum Restaurants, 2005)

Total complaints: 1,671. Theme: Call centre workers singing with mouths full of food. Complaint: Would encourage bad behaviour in children . Decision: Not upheld.

3. Auction World Ltd (2004)

Total complaints: 1,360. Theme: Shopping channel selling direct to public. Complaint: Misleading prices, poor service . Decision: Licence to broadcast revoked.

4. Paddy Power (2010)

Total complaints: 1,313. Theme: Blind footballer shown kicking a cat. Complaint: Offensive to blind people and likely to encourage animal cruelty . Decision: Not upheld.



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5. The Christian Party (2009)

Total complaints: 1,204. Theme: 'There definitely is a God. So join the Christian Party and enjoy your life.' Complaint: Offensive to atheists . Decision: Not upheld.

6. British Safety Council (1995)

Total complaints: 1,192. Theme: Leaflet featuring Pope wearing a hard hat with the strap line: 'The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt always wear a condom.' Complaint: Offensive to Roman Catholics . Decision: Upheld.

7. Volkswagen (2008)

Total complaints: 1,070. Theme: Engineer fighting multiple versions of himself. Complaint: Violence . Decision: Ban on being shown before 9pm watershed.

8. Opium, Yves St Laurent (2000)

Total complaints: 948. Theme: Poster and print ad featuring naked Sophie Dahl. Complaint: Suggestive pose not suitable to be seen by children . Decision: Ban on poster although image allowed in women's magazines.

9. Department of Energy & Climate Change (2010)

Total complaints: 939. Theme: Climate change awareness. Complaint: Scaremongering and misleading images . Decision: Upheld in part. Exaggerated extreme weather claims.

10. Barnardo's (2008)

Total complaints: 840. Theme: Domestic child abuse. Complaint: Disturbing and unsuitable to be seen by children . Decision: Not upheld.

Five of the ten advertisements that appear in the league table were cleared by the ASA despite the avalanche of complaints they generated.

The most controversial commercial of the past 50 years is an advert for abortion charity Marie Stopes, which was shown on television in 2010.

Critics said that allowing an abortion provider to advertise in this way normalised the procedure, even giving it credibility as a form of contraception.

It provoked 1,088 individual complaints, with the figure rising to 4,688 once petitions were taken into account.

The ASA rejected the complaints on the basis that the charity, which takes more than £30million a year from the NHS for terminations and other services, was promoting general pregnancy advice rather than abortions.

The decision was followed by a change in advertising rules to allow commercial abortion clinics – as well as charities such as Marie Stopes – to advertise their services on television.

Next in the chart is the advertisement which drew the most individual complaints, not including petitions.

A total of 1,671 were unhappy about the 2005 promotion for fast food chain KFC, which featured footage of call centre workers singing with their mouths full. Many objected on the basis it could encourage bad manners among children.

However, the ASA ruled that the footage was unlikely to change children’s behaviour or undermine parental authority.

Also in the top ten is a 1995 leaflet issued by the British Safety Council, featuring a picture of the Pope wearing a hard hat with the words: ‘The Eleventh Commandment: Thou shalt always wear a condom.’



It was intended to raise awareness of National Condom Week and promote safer sex, but the ASA accepted it was offensive to Roman Catholics.

Since then, however, regulators have cleared the way for condoms to be advertised more prominently, and they can now be promoted on television before the 9pm watershed.

At number eight in the complaints chart is Sophie Dahl, who appeared in a controversial poster for Opium perfume in 2000. The model was pictured lying naked on her back, holding her breasts in what many argued was a sexually suggestive pose.

The ASA subsequently banned the image from posters, where it could be seen by children, but cleared it to be used in women’s magazines.

In 2010, more than 1,300 complained about a TV commercial for the Paddy Power betting giant.



The footage of a blind football player kicking a cat across a pitch was said to be offensive to blind people and at risk of encouraging animal cruelty.

Again, the ASA ruled against the public and in favour of the firm and its advertising agency.

In 2008, the watchdog imposed controls on a TV advert for Volkswagen which depicted an engineer fighting multiple versions of himself. It said the violent images should appear only after the 9pm watershed.

In the same year, children’s charity Barnado’s drew 840 complaints over a TV campaign designed to boost awareness and donations by highlighting domestic child abuse.

It featured scenes of violence and drug taking, which many viewers found upsetting and not suitable for broadcast when children were likely to be watching.