One of the jobs I had when working at The TV Register in London was to prove that ideas for adverts HAD been done before so that they could get made by the agency.  So if they wanted to shown old lady standing on a ladder, we had to find a different catagory of product that had used such an image without generating complaints.  Often before an advert could be made it would have to go through this kind of test both with the client, the agency and indeed the ASA.

People would find the smallest thing to complain about, which is why I’m always interested in the most complained about advertising.  The BBC has a summary page has for just such ads from the past 12 months – the most controversial and complained about adverts.

What I always find interesting about these lists is how some things which seem harmless to me WILL cause offence in others.  Also how some very uncontroversial products of service will rely on sex or violence to sell. Judge for yourself at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8020881.stm