ASA releases list of 2016's most controversial adverts

Paddy Power’s penchant for advertisements that cause a stir saw the betting company mentioned twice in the Top Ten most controversial adverts of 2016 released by the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK Thursday.

The list of advertisements that have triggered the most complaints is headed by Moneysupernarket, which holds the top two and the third spot with a total of 2,464 complaints. Match.com annoyed another 896 complainants, whilst Paddy Power occupied the fifth and seventh spots with a total of 670.

Other companies on the Top Ten list included Smart Energy (250), Home Office (216), Gourmet Burger Kitchen (195) and Maltesers (151).

Most of the Top Ten complaints were that the adverts caused offence, running against the trend of 70 percent of ASA beefs, which were about misleading advertising.

The publication Drum has published more detail on the ‘awards’, and a few examples of ‘offensive’ television adverts here:

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/01/19/the-top-10-most-complained-about-ads-2016-including-moneysupermarket-paddy-power-and