Over the years, numerous American TV ads have caused a stir & have been pulled off the air as a result! It’s often because companies try to be edgy or funny—but they end up crossing a line they didn’t anticipate. Here are ten ads that went too far and had to deal with the consequences because they offended viewers. Really, just what were these companies thinking when they made them?!
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Dove’s Body Wash Transformation Ad
In 2017, Dove released an online ad that showed a Black woman removing her shirt to reveal a white woman underneath after using their body wash. Viewers quickly pointed out the racist suggestions from the ad and they said the ad was implying you could “wash off” your skin color. The backlash on social media was so severe that Dove responded by pulling the ad & issuing an apology.
Mountain Dew’s Goat Commercial
Mountain Dew once put out a bizarre ad featuring a talking goat named Felicia and a battered woman trying to identify her attacker in a police lineup—it included several Black men & the goat. Critics slammed the commercial for promoting racial stereotypes and making light of violence against women. In fact, some commenters said it was “arguably the most racist commercial in history” so Mountain Dew pulled the whole thing.
Groupon’s Super Bowl Tibet Ad
During the 2011 Super Bowl, Groupon aired an ad that started off sounding like a serious message about the struggles of the Tibetan people. Suddenly, it shifted to promoting a Groupon deal at a Tibetan restaurant in Chicago which many people thought was insensitive. They argued using a real humanitarian crisis as a punchline to sell discounts is wrong—forcing Groupon to pull the ad & share an apology.
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Nivea’s “White Is Purity” Campaign
In 2017, Nivea had a rather controversial ad campaign for their invisible deodorant that featured a photo of a woman dressed in white, seen from behind. However, the slogan was “White Is Purity” and many people were unhappy with the apparent racist connotations. They said it could be associated with white supremacist slogans so Nivea quickly halted the entire campaign.
Bud Light’s “Up for Whatever” Labels
Bud Light was criticized for a slogan they printed on some of their beer bottles that read, “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night.” Lots of people were upset because they said the image encouraged irresponsible drinking & disregard for consent and so they sent in their complaints. Soon enough, Anheuser-Busch stopped production of the labels and acknowledged that the message was misguided.
Heineken’s “Lighter Is Better” Commercial
Speaking of beer, Heineken once released a commercial that showed a bartender sliding a bottle of Heineken Light past several dark-skinned people to a lighter-skinned woman. The tagline for the ad was “Sometimes, lighter is better” which some said took to mean lighter skin was better than darker skin. Following lots of criticism on social media & from public figures, Heineken pulled the commercial & said the “light” referred to the beer being low-calorie!
Snickers’ Super Bowl Ad with Mechanics
Another controversial Super Bowl campaign was Snickers’ 2007 one, which featured two mechanics working under the hood of a car before one of them grabs a Snickers bar. They both start eating it from opposite ends, accidentally kissing when they meet in the middle and being shocked. Then, they pull away to do something “manly” like ripping out their chest hair to make up for it. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups criticized the advert for promoting homophobia and reinforcing negative stereotypes and so Snickers decided to pull the ad.
Snickers’ Mr. T Speed Walker Ad
You’d think that featuring Mr. T in a commercial would be a hit—but not for Snickers who did completely the wrong thing with their advert. In it, Mr. T sees a man speed-walking down the street and decides it’s not “manly” enough—then, he gets into a camo-painted pickup truck armed with a Gatling gun loaded with Snickers bars. He yells to “Run like a real man!” while firing candy bars at him which critics said was homophobic & promoted toxic masculinity.
Popchips’ Ashton Kutcher Ad
One Popchips campaign featured Ashton Kutcher playing several characters in a fake dating service ad including “Raj,” a Bollywood producer—Kutcher wore brownface makeup to be him. He also used a stereotypical Indian accent so people called out the ad for being racist & culturally insensitive. Facing such backlash, the company pulled the ad and apologized for any offense caused.
Summer’s Eve “Hail to the V” Campaign
As part of their “Hail to the V” campaign, Summer’s Eve tried to celebrate women by including talking hands representing female genitalia—each with different voices & accents. One was African-American, one Latina and one was Caucasian, with the commercials relying on racial stereotypes. Of course, lots of people said the adverts reinforced clichés and Summer’s Eve decided to pull the ads, choosing to reconsider their advertising approach instead.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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