Super Bowl adverts that were banned including saucy Durex and Soda Stream spots
The Super Bowl is taking place this weekend - and the major sports event will see Taylor Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce taking to the field with his Kansas City Chiefs team to face off against the San Francisco 49ers.
The singer has been spotted at 12 NFL games, including the AFC Championship, each appearance setting social media alight. She is now performing in Japan for her Eras Tour but is expected to travel back home to support her boyfriend during the biggest event in American football.
But there's more to the Super Bowl than tackles, touchdowns and fans cheering. And while a lot of football fans tune in to see the NFL's top teams compete for the ultimate title, others are more interested in the ads that run between plays.
READ MORE: Aaron Rodgers' Super Bowl claim looks foolish after brutal New York Jets report
84 Lumber's The Journey Begins ad showed a family making their way from Mexico to the States (84 Lumber)The Super Bowl is often considered a good moment for companies to debut their best commercials - and according to 2023 estimates, advertisers pay an average of $7million (£5million) to air a 30-second long commercial. Due to the hefty price tag, advertisers often opt for outlandish themes to guarantee that their commercials will be talked about.
Joe Burrow backs Patrick Mahomes after Kansas City Chiefs reach Super Bowl
But over the years, there have been some controversies, with debates on social media and calls for companies to pull the spots. Some ads were banned because they depicted offensive stereotypes or were too shocking to air during the nation's most-watched show of the year. Here, we list some of the most controversial commercials of all time.
Blind Date features a woman farting in a car unaware that there were two people in the back (SmartBeep)Blind Date (1999)
Smart Beep
Twenty-five years ago, paging company "Smart Beep" put together an advert involving a blind date. At the beginning, shows a man and a woman walking towards a car as they leave a home. Then, after the man lets the woman get into the car and she briefly sits alone in the vehicle before her date gets in, she farts.
But it turns out she was not really alone because, after the man enters the car, he introduces her to the couple in the backseat, that she had not seen. The man says: "Did you guys meet?" The woman in the back, laughing, says: "We sure did." Meanwhile, her partner looks like he is feeling sick. Meanwhile, the woman in the front looks disheartened.
The ad for Smart Beep then runs before going back to the couples in the car as the driver says: "We've got chemistry here, do you feel it?" The woman in the back seat says: "I felt it." And the man replies: "All right Janis."
While many people find farting funning, Fox did not, as it banned this ad, even though people online did not agree with the choice. One wrote: "One of the funniest commercials of all time and the girl in the backseat really makes it." Another added: "Man I've been laughing off this for year I was like 19, I'm 41 now and I'm still laughing."
Airborne (2005)
Airborne
In January 2005, Fox rejected an advertisement for the cold remedy Airborne as it briefly showed the naked buttocks of actor Mickey Rooney. The concept showed Rooney sitting in a sauna which for some reason has steam, when a woman coughs. Horrified, he runs out and drop his towel, shortly revealing his backside before running away.
Airborne's commercial was banned for showing Mickey Rooney's naked buttocks (Airborne)Skinny Dipping (2007)
Bud Light
This commercial showed a couple who decided to get into a swimming pool naked a night. But while enjoying their time, they realise that the pool actually has a below-ground window leading into a bar.
Tom Brady announces retirement from NFL "for good" after 23 seasons
Below, drinkers can be seen drinking Bud Light beer with some even taking pictures of the naked couple. The ad was apparently banned for the racy content.
Skinny Dipping shows a woman and a man getting naked in a pool unaware that beer drinkers in a bar below are seeing them (Bud Light)Love Boat (2007)
Snickers
A commercial created by Snickers in 2007 showed two mechanics working on a car when one of them gets out a snack. The other gives into temptation and starts eating the chocolate bar from the opposite side, before the pair accidentally kiss. After realising, they proceed to drink engine oil and rip out their chest hair to scrub away the incident.
The ad then ends with a gay man propositioning the duo. The commercial was deemed homophobic and was pulled from broadcast by Masterfoods USA after complaints from the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD.
Snickers' advert was considered homophobic (Snickers)Veggie Love (2009)
PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) loves to create provocative and controversial campaigns to promote vegetarianism. The seductive commercial shows models getting undressed to hardcore music before getting personal with vegetables, as one sniffs broccoli and the other licks a pumpkin. The ad then says: "Vegetarians have better sex. Go veg."
But the veggie video was not accepted by NBC, who asked for edits which PETA refused to make. The TV channel refused the ad because of concerns over a woman "rubbing her pelvic region with a pumpkin" and another "screwing herself with broccoli". The animal group then released the advert online, explaining that the ad was deemed too hot for the Super Bowl.
In the Hole (2010)
KGB
In this advert, two Knowledge Generation Bureau (KGB) emergency workers arrive to deal with a problem at a golf club. Two women say their husbands had got into a discussion about climate change and for some reason, this resulted in both of them having their heads up their backsides and being forced to walk around in an uncomfortable position.
KGB wanted to promote the message that the pair could have used its fact-checking services to prevent the issue. At the end of the ad, there is a guy struggling with tunnel vision who sinks a putt and declares: "It's in the hole." While some saw the commercial as funny, CBS decided to keep it off its airways.
The commercial was meant to promote KGB's services (KGB)Ashley Madison (2011)
The Ashley Madison Agency
Another ad that never made it to the Super Bowl was a 2011 commercial from Ashley Madison, a dating website helping married people have affairs. It features adult actress Savanna Samson arriving at a meeting and informing everyone that her husband is cheating on her.
The ad then shows everyone in the room has been getting up to raunchy things and there is also a strange moment when a guy sets eyes on a capybara. The commercial ends with an explosion after which Samson is undressed and a colleague tells her: "Welcome to the club."
Fox refused to air the Ashley Madison ad citing "standards and practices" as its reasoning, after deeming it "not acceptable". The company's slogan says: "Life is short, have an affair."
Jesus hates Barack Obama (2011)
Richard Belfry
Fox rejected JesusHatesObama.com creator Richard Belfry's bid to run an ad promoting his website during the Super Bowl. The commercial, set to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic", depicted bobble-head versions of the former US president and a scowling Jesus, who is apparently annoyed by the sound Mr Obama's bobbing head.
Suddenly the Obama bobble-head tumbles forward into a goldfish bowl below, after which Jesus smiles. Comedian Belfry insisted the ad was just a joke aimed at poking fun at the Obama administration, while also selling his merchandise.
He said: "Do I really believe that Jesus hates Obama? Absolutely not." However, Fox told him the ad was not "acceptable" for the sports event.
The advert was banned as it was considered not 'acceptable' (JesusHatesObama.com)For Your Protection. And ours. (2012)
Durex
In 2012, condom brand Durex created a commercial showing an older man looking ecstatic after committing an ad robbery. The man can then be seen committing other crimes at a younger age including making his friends fall off their bikes, assaulting others, as well as putting a cat in an oven and standing back to watch the animal suffer.
The one-minute clip finishes with his mother in bed with a guy and asking him if she has a condom. The man replies: "What's the worst that can happen?" The ad then promotes the slogan: "For your protection. And ours."
The ad was published online after being banned from the Super Bowl, with some critics arguing that the use of scare tactics to promote contraception was inappropriate. One viewer said: "They are trying to say if people don't use a condom we will give birth to a future criminal."
Pete Hoekstra (2012)
A campaign ad by Republican US Senate candidate Pete Hoekstra featuring an Asian woman speaking broken English was widely criticised and accused of racism. In the ad, Hoekstra dubbed his Democratic Senate rival Debbie Stabenow "Debbie Spend It Now" for supporting policies that cause American jobs and investments to be outsourced to China.
"Debbie spend so much American money, you borrow more and more from us," said a young Asian woman riding her bike through rice paddies at the beginning of the 30-second ad. "You're economy get very weak. Ours get very good. We take your jobs. Thank you Debbie 'Spend It Now.'"
Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., the chairwoman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, said she was "appalled" by the ad and called for Hoekstra to take it down and apologise. "I am appalled at the Hoekstra campaign's offensive and insensitive Super Bowl ad that relies heavily on negative Asian stereotypes," Chu said in a statement. "Politics of fear and division will never bring the American people together around the solutions they so desperately need, and I am calling on former Rep. Hoekstra to take down this atrocious ad and issue an apology immediately.
Pete Hoekstra's 2012 campaign ad was considered racist (Pete Hoekstra)Viral (2014)
Soda Stream
10 years ago, an advert for Soda Stream was not allowed at the Super Bowl. It shows Scarlett Johansson showing how to make your own fizzy drink at home. She then removes her robe to reveal a little black dress and drinks the content, in a bid to make the product go "viral".
The commercial ends with the actress saying: "Sorry, Coke and Pepsi." There was speculation that the ad was not allowed because both Coca-Cola and Pepsi are big advertisers for the Super Bowl. After the mention of the rival companies, the Soda Stream advert was deemed appropriate to broadcast.
The Journey Begins (2017)
84 Lumber
Tensions were high in the US in 2017 as former US president Donald Trump announced his plans to build a wall at the Mexican border. Building supply company 84 Lumber wanted to reference this in its commercial, but the ad was rejected by Fox as it was considered too political.
The company decided to air a shorter 90-second version on TV called "The Journey Begins" and promoted links to watch the full version, called "The Entire Journey" online. It shows a woman and a child in Mexico making the journey to the US.
But once they reach their destination, a huge wall blocks their entry, before they see some hope when they spot a door and walk through it. This advert was made for a recruitment drive and carried the slogan: "The will to succeed is always welcome here."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
