PAUL HENRY: The broadcaster often offended with his greatest controversy being a reference to Scottish singer Susan Boyle as "retarded".

Kiwis have been offended by virtually everything, 25 years of the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) show.

"Next time I'm holding one of my balls, you're invited," suggested a person dressed as Cinderella on children's TV show What Now.

John Key brazenly threatened law and order when he didn't wear a seatbelt in a National Party ad, said one complainant. A Maori language broadcast of a rugby league game promoted "terrorist propaganda", said another.

Craig Simcox Lower Hutt woman Yvonne Ward complained about a Hells Pizza promotion which saw condoms dropped in the mail.

There was something to offend everyone. Together the ASA and BSA receive thousands of complaints each year. But over 25 years of outrage, what really got people going?

Before 2004, complaints were split evenly between "bad taste" (swearing, sexual content) and "balance, fairness and accuracy".

Words such as "bugger" and "bloody" were complained about frequently, and sexual innuendo got the collective blood boiling. Today, a complaint was twice as likely to be about "balance, fairness and accuracy" than "bad taste" - sex and swearing don't seem to have the effect they once did.

Complainants were more interested in people getting a fair go. An example of this hit consumer affairs show Target in 2010, when it falsely accused a cafe of having faecal matter in its food. It had to pay nearly $40,000 in fines - one of the dearest punishments ever imposed.

The most-complained-about ads of all time show that when a group feel targeted, they come out swinging.

Hell Pizza was responsible for the most-complained-about ad of all time. The ASA received nearly 700 complaints when the company dropped hundreds of thousands of condoms in letterboxes across Auckland. A few years later it struck again with the third-most-complained-about ad of all time, in the form of a billboard advertising the sale of hot cross buns. It featured the phrase "limited time only, just like Jesus".

Broadcasting complaints, which apply to TV and radio broadcasts, tend to be fewer in number but more serious in nature. They arise when the broadcaster refuses to deal with complaints about its programmes.

The most offensive broadcasting event occurred in 2006. It made up a big chunk of religiously motivated complaints that year.

It was an episode of South Park called Bloody Mary which sparked protests outside CanWest's (now MediaWorks) offices. The episode involved a statue of the Virgin Mary and chaotic menstruation.

Other broadcasting events that attracted a significant number of complaints were Outrageous Fortune, for gratuitous swearing in its time-slot, and Paul Henry, who appeared frequently for his various escapades.

Of all his controversies the worst was when he referred to Scottish singer Susan Boyle as "retarded", which became the fourth-most complained about incident ever.

TEN OF THE BEST

2009: Solid Gold FM - Joke that former MP Chris Carter was the most powerful lesbian on the planet, the second being US TV show host Ellen DeGeneres.

2013: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Bilbo and Gandalf are depicted smoking pipes; Bilbo commented, "Old Toby, the finest weed in the Southfarthing".

1995: 20/20 - Item named "Satanic Panic" complained about by the Coven of Natural Law, which said it discriminated against Satanists.

2009: Radio Hauraki - Host photocopied his bottom on the radio station's photocopying machine and encouraged listeners to do the same and fax him the results.

1998: Breakfast - Mike Hosking referred to football as "boring". Complainant said this discriminated against football players.

2005: Campbell Live - John Campbell showed a picture of the Duke of Edinburgh defaced with a moustache and horns with a speech bubble saying "I'm a dork".

2005: Toi Whakaari - A kapa haka performance included a "whakapohane" - a gesture in which male performers direct their buttocks at the crowd.

2010: SKI FM - Comment about sucking diarrhoea out of someone's bottom with a straw, followed two days later by a comment about drinking pigs' urine.

1995: Cricket broadcast - Match commentator said "Kick 'em while they're down", in reference to Australians. The complainant said this was a "cruel and unnecessary remark" that belittled Australia's sporting endeavours.

1999: Breakfast - Use of the word "Poms" is racial discrimination, complainant said, and was often used sarcastically in reference to a losing sports performance.