To mark its 50th anniversary the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has revealed the most complained about adverts of all time with nearly 80% of those regarded as misleading.
Offending its way to the top spot is the 2005 Kentucky Fried Chicken advert (KFC) ad which showed call centre workers singing with their mouths full. Complaints flooded in regarding the promotion of bad manners amongst children, totalling 1,671 complaints.
Following behind came the 2004 Auction World which caused received complaints for its “consistently poor customer service, misleading guide prices and delays in delivery of goods.” The shopping channel was issued a fine and their license to broadcast revoked.
In third spot was the Paddy Power ad of 2010, which received 1,313 complaints regarding animal cruelty.
Ads from The Christian Party, Volkswagen Group and the Department of Energy and Climate Change also made the top ten. Barnardo’s rounded off the list in tenth place with 840 complaints after viewers found the ad upsetting.
During the five decades, the organisation received around 431,000 complaints and in 2011 experienced a record high of 1,458 complaints.
Rt Hon Lord Smith of Finsbury, chairman of ASA, said: “Our top ten 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.”
