Toronto Billboard Advertising isn’t immune to its share of questionable campaigns running on Billboards in Toronto. Check out some of our top pick for 2017!
Nivea: White is Purity
I laughed at this when I first saw this. I don’t think it is necessarily blatantly racist, but I don’t know how someone didn’t notice the racist factor of this sooner.
Am/Pm Organic Cafe, Nepal, “Flowchart”
The worst part of this advertisement is that it fails to fulfil its purpose. A billboard advertisement is supposed to be easily digestible and convincing. This advertisement is just tedious to understand and straight up unappealing.
Facebook station take over
Facebook took over a whole subway station with their posters. This reconfirms the NEGATIVE notion that social media is taking over our actual lives. It is just straight up creepy and makes me want to GET OFF Facebook.
Peta: go vegetarian
Honestly, Peta is notorious for having offensive and outrageous advertisements, so this does not shock me. That being said, this ad does the opposite of promoting vegetarianism, as it only propels the idea that vegetarians are “rude”. Giving a bad rep to a lifestyle you are promoting is counterproductive. Insulting consumers also doesn’t help.
Sony: playstation
I really don’t think I need to comment here on why this is perceived as racist, do I?
Bacardi breezer
This one is probably the most offensive out of all – it is blatantly misogynistic and incredibly insulting to women. The advertisement tells consumers that the only way to look attractive is to surround yourself more unattractive females. It also features photos of seemingly overweight and unattractive women. I have no idea how this ad would appeal to anyone…
Ford India: hatchback
This advertisement is incredibly offensive. It features three women with their hands and feet bound and their mouths gagged. In the driver’s seat is a depiction of what looks like, Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime minister of Italy (who is known for throwing wild sex parties, but is facing charges for paying underage women for sex). It’s incredibly controversial and propels and normalises rape culture.
Pretzel Crisps: You Can Never Be Too Thin
Similar to the Peta ad, this advertisement insults consumers. This advertisement also received a lot of backlash from those suffering from eating disorders (which makes complete sense).
Sources:
https://digiday.com/marketing/worst-10-ads-2016/
https://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/blog/12-offensive-advertisements/
https://digiday.com/marketing/worst-ads-2017-so-far/
