12 Times Advertising Crossed the Line
Here's a curated list of 12 advertising campaigns that provoked backlash by crossing ethical, cultural, or emotional boundaries.
- Alyana Aguja
- 5 min read
These examples illustrate how brands — from consumer goods to public institutions — have sometimes misjudged audience sensitivities, whether by trivializing social movements, exploiting tragedies, or presenting imagery with harmful subtext. The resulting controversies often led to campaign withdrawals, public apologies, or long-term reputation damage.
1. Pepsi’s “Live for Now” protest ad
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Pepsi’s ad featuring Kendall Jenner handing a can of Pepsi to police during a protest was widely criticized for trivializing serious social justice movements and appropriating imagery from the Black Lives Matter movement. It was pulled within a day after a wave of backlash labeled it tone-deaf and disingenuous. The incident highlighted how attempts to appear culturally relevant can backfire when brands misread or exploit real struggles.
2. Balenciaga’s holiday campaign with children and BDSM-style teddy bears
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Balenciaga sparked outrage with a 2022 campaign showing children holding teddy bears dressed in BDSM gear alongside references to child pornography cases. The images were decried as promoting child exploitation and led to widespread condemnation, celebrity criticism, and cancelled accolades. The brand issued apologies, sued then dropped its lawsuit, and overhauled its creative direction in response.
3. Dove’s “black woman turns into white woman” ad
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A brief clip for Dove body lotion depicted a black woman becoming a white woman, which many viewers interpreted as suggesting that lighter skin is more beautiful. The campaign was swiftly pulled after the outcry, and Dove issued an apology, calling the ad’s execution a mistake. The controversy revealed how even well-intentioned diversity messaging can miss the mark and cause offense.
4. WWF’s “Tsunami” ad using 9/11 imagery
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The WWF released print ads suggesting that more lives were lost in the Indian Ocean tsunami than in the 9/11 attacks, using airplanes crashing into skyscrapers. This insensitive comparison was widely condemned for exploiting a tragedy to promote fundraising and was seen as tasteless and tone-deaf. The campaign remains a stark example of how shock tactics can severely damage a brand’s reputation.
5. Bloomingdale’s date-rape joke in Christmas catalog
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In 2015, Bloomingdale’s catalog included a line that read “Spike your best friend’s eggnog when they’re not looking,” joking about date-rape. The remark was promptly condemned for normalizing sexual assault, and Bloomingdale’s issued an apology in response. The episode demonstrated the importance of carefully vetting humor in marketing materials.
6. LifeLock’s CEO Social Security Billboard Dare
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LifeLock ran a bold campaign in 2006 featuring the CEO’s SSN on a billboard, daring identity thieves to steal his identity. While attention-grabbing, it was irresponsible and reckless, trivializing personal data security in a way that undermines trust. The stunt exposed the brand to ridicule and heightened scrutiny rather than admiration.
7. Nivea’s “White is purity” ad
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Nivea released an ad in 2017 with the tagline “White is purity. Keep it clean, keep bright,” which many interpreted as racist and provocative. The backlash was immediate and fierce, calling out the ad’s explicitly exclusionary language. It became a textbook case of a brand failing to understand the historical and social weight of its messaging.
8. General Motors’ “Robot Suicide” Super Bowl commercial
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In a 2007 Super Bowl spot, GM depicted a factory robot jumping off a bridge to its death after being decommissioned — a scene that was criticized for glamorizing suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention condemned the ad for sending a dangerous message, prompting GM to withdraw it within days. It underscored how dramatic storytelling can cross into reckless territory.
9. PETA’s “Last Longer” NSFW Super Bowl ad
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PETA aired a sexually graphic ad featuring couples in intimate situations, insinuating that vegetarians have “longer-lasting” sexual experiences. Networks deemed it too explicit for broadcast, and the campaign was banned from airing. The ad illustrated how pushing shock boundaries for awareness can quickly result in censorship — or worse, bans.
10. Pot Noodle’s child-neglect and violent language ads
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In 2002, Pot Noodle aired an animated ad showing a child with a tongue stuck to a frozen frame while the adult on screen ignores the situation to cook noodles — an ad accused of glorifying neglect. Another campaign used the phrase “hurt me, you slag,” prompting criticism that it condoned violence and incited harassment. Both were pulled after public outcry.
11. Australian Grim Reaper AIDS campaign
Haberdoedas from Unsplash
Australia’s 1987 “Grim Reaper” PSA used graphic imagery of the Grim Reaper bowling over people to show the threat of AIDS, accompanied by a message warning it could kill more people than World War II. While effective at drawing attention and increasing hotline calls, it was condemned for stigmatizing the LGBTQ+ community by associating the Grim Reaper with gay men. The campaign was cut from its intended run amid fears it promoted fear and prejudice.
12. American Eagle’s “Great Genes/Jeans” pun ad
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American Eagle’s campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney used the tagline “Great Genes” (genetics) crossing into “Jeans” — a pun many critics interpreted as endorsing eugenic ideals tied to genetic purity. The campaign sparked intense debate about racism, representation, and tone-deaf messaging, with some calling it modern-day Nazi propaganda. The brand defended the campaign as merely celebrating denim, but the controversy highlighted how wordplay can have loaded implications.