Although seemingly not as offensive as Paddy Power’s 2014 Oscar Pistorius ad, the ‘Epic Strut’ campaign attracted more than 1,500 complaints last year

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Moneysupermarket’s ad featuring a man strutting and twerking in high heels and denim hot pants was the most complained-about TV ad in the UK last year.

The TV ad, part of the brand’s “So Moneysupermarket” campaign about consumers who have saved cash using the price comparison website, features middle-aged “Dave” in an “epic strut” through London’s streets while Sharon Osbourne looks on.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Moneysupermarket’s ‘Epic Strut’ ad

The Advertising Standards Authority received 1,513 complaints from outraged members of the public who felt the ad was offensive, although the ad watchdog cleared it of any breach of the UK ad code.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The top ten most complained about ads – 2015

Moneysupermarket’s ad pales in the offensiveness stakes compared with Paddy Power’s 2014 winner, which offered money back if Oscar Pistorious “walked” from his murder trial, which is the most complained about ad of all time with 5,525.



Booking.com’s tongue-in-cheek use of the word “booking” as a substitute for the “F-word” continues to offend, with the travel website taking three of the top 10 places in the most complained about list for 2015.

Following on from 2014’s second place (1,768 complaints), Booking.com took second, fourth and seventh last year totalling 1,291 complaints. None of the ads were found to break the UK code.

The top five also featured PayPal, which amassed 464 complaints for a festive ad parents felt ruined Christmas for suggesting that Santa was not real. Not upheld, said the ASA.

And fifth spot went to Protein World’s “beach body ready” posters, which 380 people felt were offensive for using a bikini-clad woman and promoting an unhealthy sense of body image.

The ASA said the ad did not break rules relating to serious or widespread offence, but did order changes to Protein World’s claims about health and weight loss.

“Our top 10 for 2015 will no doubt get people talking about [whether] the ads are or aren’t offensive,” said the ASA chief executive, Guy Parker. “While matters of offence can grab the headlines, the bulk of our work is the less glamorous task of tackling misleading advertising.”

The top 10 also included a smattering of charity and public health campaigns, which often attract attention for using hard-hitting techniques or for being focused on sensitive subjects.

These included an ad for the British Heart Foundation and an anti-smoking campaign by the Department of Health.