The Rush Limbaugh Tucson Shooter ad has recently come under fire for its insensitivity and terrible timing (being unfortunately placed near the site of the recent shooting), though it isn’t the first ad to draw controversy for being ill-conceived.
Indeed, advertising has long been fraught with missteps and miscalculations, as this collection of advertising fails demonstrates. So while the Rush Limbaugh Tucson Shooter ad might be the latest dramatic example of a disastrous advertisement, it is not the first and certainly won’t be the last.
29 Controversial Marketing Fails
27
Dolce & Gabbana Gets Overly Sexual in New Controversial Ads
26
Controversial Support Bra Ad
Running Free
25
Poorly Placed Advertising
American Ad Bloopers
24
Misspelled Signs
Bizarre Billboard Blunders
23
Awarding Controversial Ads
American Apparel Dubbed Label of the Year
22
Controversial Billboards
Disney Ad Shows Little Girl in Lingerie
21
Banned Designer Billboards
Sexy Armani Exchange Promo Deemed 'Too Racy'
20
Sexist Ads
Pretty Women as Shoe Brushes
19
Curiously Offbeat Ads
Diesel Shows Unique Spirit in Fall/Winter Campaign
18
Billboard Threesomes
Calvin Klein Under Fire for Steamy Ads on Giant SoHo Advertisement
17
Controversial Ad Bans
Italian Tom Ford Sunglasses Ad
16
Censored Anti-Smoking Ads
Russian Anti-Smoking Billboard Meets Controversy
15
Billboard Hacking
Prankster Routes Naughty Content to Moscow Roadside Ad Space
14
Scandalous Church Billboards
St. Matthew in the City Anglican Church Stirs Controversy With Ad
13
Alarming Outdoor Ads
Sioux Falls Fire Department Shuts Down Smoking Billboard
12
'Life's Short. Get A Divorce'
Edgy Billboard Encourages Divorce
11
Advertising Bloopers
International Ads Lost in Translation
10
Odd Rubber Advertisements
Russian Billboard Promotes Safety and Tires?
9
Controversial Ad Campaign
Defamatory Pizza Box Marketing
8
Regional Meanvertising
Molson Coors' Toronto-Trashing Billboards Flop
7
Bleeding Billboards
Shocking Approach to Promote Road Safety in New Zealand
6
Controversial Suicide Billboards
Hanging Man Parodies Stock Market
5
Banning Controversial Ads
Kotex Beaver Ad
4
Controversial TV Spot Is 2007's Best TV Ad
The Last Supper
3
Fake Ads On Billboards
Attention-Grabbing First Bank Gimmick Altered to Promote Entrepreneurs
2
Activist Ad Rejections
NBC Refuses to Air PETA Thanksgiving Ad
1
Offensive Traveling Billboards
Aborted Fetus On Moving Truck
Related Ideas
When Ads Cross The Line
Is Tom Ford's New Campaign Too Naughty
27 PETA Nude Campaigns
From Sensual Foodvertising to Olympic Activists
Eternal Errorts
Misspelled Tattoos
34 Billboards That Slap You Silly With Creativity
Dolce & Gabbana Gets Overly Sexual in New Controversial Ads
Sleaze Marketing?
American Apparel Accused of Being Sleazy
Fatal Crotch Campaigns
Controversial French Anti-Smoking Ads Cause Uproar
Banned Celebrity Ads
Eva Mendes for CK Secret Obsession
Playful Panty Ads
Diesel Intimate Underwear Gets Cheeky For Fall/Winter 09-10
Sleazy Promotional Items
American Apparel's Boob-Flash Matches
Top 20 Billboards and Out of Home Ads in 2008
Violent Advertising
Amnesty International Furious at Dolce & Gabbana Ad
Gruesome Shockvertising
Sony PSP Retry Ad
Sexy Ads Upset the Pope
Racy Equinox Fitness Ad
Tattooed Typos
10 Reasons to Think Before You Ink (UPDATE)
41 Unique Billboards That Push the Advertising Envelope
Top 50 Creative Billboards and Outdoor Ads in 2009
Fake BJ Ads
Do American Apparel Ads Cross The Line?
Animal Skin
Dolce & Gabbana Suggest Stamped Zebra and Panther Will be Hot
Zooming in on Privates
Diesel Intimate 2009 Campaign Is Fashionably Edgy
Crowdsourcing Billboards
American Apparel Wants You to Vote on Storefront Sign
Controversial Billboards
Disney Ad Shows Little Girl in Lingerie
Scandalous Beer Commercials
Is Guinness 'Good Times' Sexist, Indecent, or Both?
50 Scandalous Acts for Animal Activism
From PETA Protests to Racy Celeb Campaigns
Banned Shockvertisements
Overly-Morbid Print Ads
14 Celebrities Disrobed For PETA
Fetishvertising
Diesel S/S 09 Ad Pushes Limits
Banned Designer Billboards
Sexy Armani Exchange Promo Deemed 'Too Racy'
Sexist Ads To Appeal to Men
Axe Cottage Ads
Disaster Jeans Fashion
Diesel Gets Caught in a Storm of Denim Ads for Fall/Winter 2009-2010
30 Fascinating Blunders, Bloopers and Wipeouts
Bathing in Strangers' Hair
Diesel.com Visitors Send in Hair to Web Show
27 Approaches to Animal Rights
Activism PETA Would Admire, Inspired by Hilary Swank's Pet Ad
Smelly Billboards
The Steak-Scented Billboard Makes Makes Mouths Water During Rush Hour
Edgy Aerobic Ads
American Apparel Goes 80s Glam in Striking Adverts
Bleeding Tables
Paint Or Die But Love Me
Bizarre Fashion Firings
American Apparel's Conservative Bean Counter Axed
Cutting Edge Billboards
Giant Razor Blade Slices Pigeons to Demonstrate Sharpness
Censored Anti-Smoking Ads
Russian Anti-Smoking Billboard Meets Controversy
Gory Workplace Safety Ads
Using Awful Accidents to Raise Awareness
Bizarre Meatvertising
Diesel's 'Pete the Meat Puppet' Campaign
13 Anti Smoking Aids
From Sinister Cigarette Packaging to Anti-Smoking Balls
Dark Surrealistic Ads
Diesel Spring Summer 2009 Campaign
3D Street Art for Pedestrian Safety
Auckland City Council PSA Gets Creative for Awareness
10 Innovative Safety Devices for Your Children
Child Shockvertising in PSAs
Anti-Smoking Ads Feature Kids with Adult Hands Holding Cigs
Anti-Smoking Contests
Would High School Students Help Katherine Heigl Kick Some Butts?
Futuristic Anti-Smoking Ads
Live to See Naked Chicks & Bin Laden Caught
Fake Suicide Game
Does '5 Minutes To Kill (Yourself)' Game Cross the Line?
Tricky Advertising
Cut Out Cop Car Ad Slows Down Traffic
Billboard Wars
Audi and BMW's Dueling LA Billboards
Billboard Freevertising
Northland Pro's Gratis Giveaway
Graffiti-Enhanced Promotions
Bayer Aspirin Markets Pain Relief with Ads in Romanian Subways
Sexist Days?
Move Over Pirate Day, Here Comes 'Bitch Day'
Bear Fashion Ads
Diesel's Billboard Confuses Customers With Wild Creatures
Nude In-Flight Videos
Air New Zealand Finds a Way to Get Excited About Safety
Bleeding Paint Chairs
Anna ter Haar Designs
Funny Fake Protests
Toronto's North York General Hospital Underwear Affair
Controversial Religion Tees
‘Amish Gone Wild' T-Shirt Pokes Fun at Mennonite Community
Regional Meanvertising
Molson Coors' Toronto-Trashing Billboards Flop
Values-Based PSAs
Foundation for a Better Life Delivers Inspirational Messages
High-Tech Traffic Safety
Hanyoung Lee's Virtual Wall
Fake Websites
Pretty Women Lure You to Fake Sites, and Sixt Gets Your Attention
Wrench-Grabbing Billboards
The Demonstrative Sears Craftsman 'Trust in Your Hands' Ad Campaign
Wrinkly Billboards
SeeThePersonNotTheAge.com Wants You to like Old People
Billboardom
Site Dedicated to Edgy Billboards
Accidental Ad Campaigns
Barack Obama Billboard Makes Him a Style Icon
Stomach-Churning Safety Ads
Australian Worksafe PSA
Faux Child Billboards
Australian ‘Stop Child Abuse Now' Campaign From JWT
Traffic Jams As Movie Promos
Angelina Jolie Stops Travel for 'The Changeling'
$500,000 Typo
eBay Blunders
Presidential Anti-Smoking Campaigns
Will Obama's Example Inspire Smokers to Quit?
Interactive Digital Billboards
Toshiba Electronic Signage Controlled by Cell Phones
15 Ways Toronto Does it Better
Happy 175th Birthday, Toronto!
Giant Urban Balls
Kurt Perschke Redball Project Captivates Toronto During Luminato 2009
Fist-Shaped Fragrance Bottles
Diesel Has Something for ‘Only the Brave'
Satirical Religions
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Too-Cool-For-School Ads
Nissan Goes Badass for Their Toronto Ad Campaign
Baby Making Religion
Duggar's Quiverfull Movement Promotes Population Growth
Crime-Stopping Ads
Wanted Sex Offender Billboards Help to Arrest Fugitives
Fake Sky Painting
Illusion Billboard For Berger Paints Shows Their True Colors
Profiting From Ebay Typos
Synthetic Wishbones
Totally Unreal & Guilt Free Lucky Break Wishbones are Plastic
Thanksgiving Publicity Blunders
Sarah Palin's Turkey Slaughter Interview
Insurance for Supernatural Events
Animal-Loving Atheists Offer Pet Services in Case of Rapture
Suicidal Anti-Smoking PSAs
Thought-Provoking Help Line Ad
Traffic-Slowing Structures
Twelve Bridges Designed by Drost and Van Veen Architects
Greener Billboards
Top 3 Outdoor Communications Companies Adopt Eco Posters
Snowing Billboards
Tryvann Bus Stop Ad Snows When Ski Conditions Are Stellar
$500 Million Anti-Smoking Campaigns
Bill Gates & Michael Bloomberg MPower
Traffic Jam Cafes
‘Cahoona Coffee' Is Germany's First Coffee Drive-Through
Interactive Anti-Smoking Ads
QUIT Ashtray Lungs
Fetuses for Human Rights
Campaign to Stop Female Foeticide
Hugging Religions
The Lord David Prosser Buthidar Movement is Based on Kindness to All
Fake Ads On Billboards
Attention-Grabbing First Bank Gimmick Altered to Promote Entrepreneurs
Retrospective Political Promos
Ford Presidential Museum Billboards Celebrate a Personal Legacy
Unintentional Meanvertising?
India Plus-Sized Jeans Ad Uses Images of Women to Make an Elephant
3-D Breadvertising
Floralp Butter Billboard
$10 Laptops?
India Typo Leads to False Rumors
$1 Bus Rides
Megabus Takes Credit Crunched Tourists from Toronto to NYC (UPDATE)
Macho Billboards
Lamb's Campaign Channels Your Inner Lumberjack
Staged Traffic Jams
Maider Lopez Creates an Unlikely Scene in the Aralar Mountains
Pixelated Images to Promote Safety
Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers Campaign
Virally Ridiculing Religion
Belief Systems Spoof Gets Controversial Attention
Eco Iconic Billboards
Coca-Cola Goes Green With a Billboard in San Francisco
Mobile Billboard Benches
Finn Magee Turns Outdoor Seating to Moving Advertisement
Gory Candle Sticks
The Red Waxed Bleeding Pillar Candle is Perfect for Halloween
Mid-Air Traffic Jams
WHITEvoid Lets You See Lufthansa's Airtraffic in 3D
Green Car Ads
The Toyota Prius Flower Billboard is Pretty and Makes a Statement
Intuitive Traffic Lights
Audi Backs Travolution to Reduce Congestion
Forced Abortion Prevalent in Authoritarian Southwest China
Guerrilla Anti-Religion Campaigns
UK Atheist Busvertising
Voodoo Billboards
The Museum of World Culture Presents Vodou Exhibit
Political Billboard Pranks
D*Face Takes On the Queen at G-20 Summit
Year End Megamixes
Dj Earworm 'United State of Pop' Mashes Billboard Top 25 2009 Songs
Giant Criminal Behavior Warnings
Chicago's 'Dear John' Billboards Target Prostitution Customers
Debaptism Ceremonies
Atheists Blow Away Waters of Baptism With Hairdryers
In-Dash Traffic Cam Warnings
NAVIGON Red Light Cameras Alert Drivers to Dangerous Intersections
Religion Converting Games
‘Penitents Compete' Game Show Causes Controversy