NEWS

The recent Fastrack watch ad featuring actor Genelia D'souza and cricketer Virat Kohli was hauled up by pilots and air-hostesses, since it showed the two getting cozy in the cockpit of an aircraft, thereby endangering the lives of passengers on board. But this spot hasn't been the only to stir up controversy. Here is a look at 10 more such ads that offended audiences.
 

Amul Macho

The Amul macho 'Yeh toh bada toing hai' ad featured housewife having sexual fantasies while washing her husband's underwear. The Information & Broadcasting ministry initially banned its screening though the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), the self-regulatory body of the advertising industry, later cleared it for public viewing.

 

Tuff footwear

The footwear ad featured models Madhu Sapre and Milind Soman posing nude with a python. In 1995, an obscenity case was filed against all persons (including the models) who were involved in making of the offensive ad. Not only social activists, but animal rights protesters fought to get the ad off the streets. The case was finally cleared in 2009, 14 years long years since the hoardings first went up

 

Set Wet Zatak, Wildstone deodorants

The deodorant ads that showed women lusting after men who sprayed on these scents have recently come under the scanner. The I&B ministry coined these ads as suggestive and vulgar, and thus ordered the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to instruct creative agencies to modify them or take them off air.

 

Kamasutra condoms

The 90's witnessed a revolution in the ad world where 'being bold' was the new formula to sell products. The Kamasutra Condoms ad featuring the 90s sex-siren Pooja Bedi and the late model Viveka Babajee was however, too much too handle for a still prudish audience. The ad showing Bedi in a steamy shower scene with model Marc Robinson, and Viveka under a waterfall with model Inder Sudan was banned on Doordarshan.

Cadbury Temptations

In 2002, Cadbury India got embroiled in political controversy when their print ad showed a map of India highlighting Kashmir with a slogan "Too good to share". The ruling party BJP claimed that Kashmir was a sensitive issue and therefore such advertisements were hurtful to Indian sentiments. Later, Cadbury India published an apology in the newspapers.

Balbir Pasha AIDS awareness campaign

In 2003, giant hoardings saying 'Balbir Pasha ko AIDS hoga kya' made Mumbai citizens wonder just who this person was. Balbir Pasha, the faceless and ficitonal character was created for the AIDS awareness campaign and the initiative was a huge hit until political party Shiv Sena opposed the same, saying that it would have an 'adverse' effect on society.

Aristocrat Black Whiskey

It's a sign that times have changed when a couple of years ago, even a plunging neckline would raise eyebrows. The surrogate advertisement for the liquor brand featuring a model in a tight dress that accentuated her bosom was retracted for its suggestiveness.

 

MR Coffee

Bollywood couple Arbaaz Khan and Malaika Arora shot the ad for the MR coffee brand, where the actors were filmed getting cozy and the tagline read,'Real pleasure can't come in an 'instant'. The spot was pulled off air.

 

Levis Jeans

When Levis jeans decided to advertise their jeans as a second skin, it made use of several model wearing nude-coloured clothes that gave the impression of them being topless. The hoarding was pulled down after objections from several 'moral guardians'.

 

Bisleri

Bisleri's attempt to make their brand more appealing to young people went awry when they changed their tagline from 'Pure and Safe' to 'Play safe'. The ad even showed a couple drinking the product while making out on the beach and was taken off air soon after.