Banned Commercials You Won't Be Seeing Anytime Soon
These days, commercials are more of an artform than they've ever been. While the ads shown during the Super Bowl have always been a big draw, it's only in recent years that they became nearly as important as the actual game itself — if not more important. But whether you love television commercials or hate them, there's no denying that some can leave a pretty lasting impression on your brain long after they've gone wherever commercials go when they're not being shown.
We probably all have that one friend who still quotes the Budweiser "wussup?!" from decades ago, or keeps asking where the beef is. And while a lot of great ads manage to stay on the air, there are plenty that never actually make the cut. And some that do end up on the air don't stay there very long, after they end up getting banned. We're popping the lid on some of these commercials and showing you the hottest ones we could find. Just keep in mind that they might be NSFW.
Bar Refaeli's banned bikini commercial
When you hear about a clothing brand called Hoodies, what item of clothing would you expect them to try and sell? Swimwear, of course! Now while it doesn't make a ton of sense that an apparel company named after a specific kind of cold-weather clothing would sell stuff you wear in the water, it does make sense that they'd try and find a super-attractive person to model it in a commercial.
As such, Supermodel Bar Refaeli shot a commercial for Hoodies, in which she ran around a beach, a beach house, and sped around on a boat while wearing the company's various bikinis and flirting with the camera — all of which might sound great to a lot of viewers, but was too racy for the Second Broadcasting Authority for Television and Radio in Israel. Because of the provocative content, it was deemed inappropriate for airtime before 10 p.m. You can watch the commercial for yourself and judge whether or not it's too steamy for primetime.
Shoot 'Em Up - Xbox 360 Commercial
When it comes to the way advertisements try to get viewers' attentions, the list doesn't usually have much on it besides "sex" and "violence." While Bar Refaeli's Hoodies ad isn't light on the former, it's still a little funny to imagine that the above Xbox 360 commercial could really be classified under the latter. No, don't clean your glasses: none of the people "shooting guns" in the above advertisement are actually, well, shooting guns. They're all finger guns.
Even still, it's not that hard to see why this video ran into at least a few problems, even though it's only showcasing mock violence. Having a pretend shoot-out in the middle of a busy terminal might illustrate how easy it was to join in the fray on the Xbox 360, but it probably didn't sit well with the censors. According to GameSpot, the ad was never aired on television and was only shown at Microsoft's promotional events. Still, it's cool to see everyone unleash the kid within and use their imaginations to playfully frag everyone else.
Bud Light Skinny-dipping
There are a number of questions you have to ask yourself when you watch this never-aired 2007 Bud Light Super Bowl commercial, which features a couple tossing their clothes off and then going skinny-dipping — and who discover that they're not completely alone, and that the pool they jumped into has an underwater viewing area. The first question: how come they're the only two dummies at the party who didn't realize that literally everyone else has relocated to the transparent pool-viewing room? The next question: why would anyone go to a party filled with this many creeps? Seriously, dudes are ordering extra beers so they can watch naked people swimming, they're taking photos — c'mon, people. Have some class.
Anyway, it doesn't take much in the way of imagination to see why this was banned. According to NBC News, this commercial never even got on the air after being rejected by the network that aired the Super Bowl. Probably for the best.
Scarlett Johansson's SodaStream ad sizzles, not fizzles
ScarJo teamed up with SodaStream for a Super Bowl ad showcasing the lovely actress and the ease of using the SodaStream device at home by simply adding water, bubbles, and the perfect flavor together to create "better for you" soda. After telling us that the soda has less sugar and helps lessen the need for more bottles, ScarJo thinks out loud about how she can make this message go viral. She decides that stripping away her robe to reveal a slinky dress and sipping on the soda while seductive music plays in the background is the way to go, but FOX disagreed. According to Entertainment Weekly, the network didn't want to air the ad because it insulted Coke and Pepsi. An edited version of the clip was ultimately broadcast, and the publicity surrounding the story ended up helping Johansson achieve her goal.
Death approaches in this Hyundai Veloster Commercial
When you're trying to sell a car, it's always important to show off its many excellent features. Does it have a lot of legroom? Maybe it goes real fast, or it's got excellent handling and it's really fun to drive it around a twisty mountaintop!
Or, as in the case of the Hyundai Veloster, perhaps it has an extra door that doesn't open up into traffic. Yeah, that's it.
Anyway, it's probably not easy to sell such an underwhelming feature in an exciting way. So that's why the ad agency responsible for the Dutch commercial above went with disturbingly violent imagery and shock-value. Do you need to show a girl getting smashed by a car to sell your boring car? Probably not — but they went and did it anyway.
As it happens, David Gianatasio of Adweek said that the spot was actually shot down by Hyundai itself for being "too shocking" for their brand. Considering the fact that Death looms over the commercial, they might have made the right call.
The Toyota Rav 4 makes murderers out of this couple
Speaking of disturbingly violent images, how about this commercial from New Zealand for the Toyota Rav 4? The car is so amazing that it apparently turns husband and wife against each other in their shared quest to drive it. Their need to get behind the wheel is so great that they set cartoonish traps to try to slow the other down while they go through their morning routine. There's an explosive ending to this commercial that reminds you just how exciting married life can be. According to TVNZ, the Advertising Standards Authority upheld 17 complaints against the violent spot, some of which deemed it "not socially responsible," said it "sent an inappropriate message to children," and "would encourage similar behavior." Despite these complaints, the internet still finds it pretty entertaining.
Axe Excite causes the fall of angels
The Bible, or as its biggest fans call it, "the good book," is full of lots of words, stories, and — above all — rules. Rules for what you should and shouldn't eat, rules for what kind of fabric you should wear, and rules for the best way to show someone they're breaking some of the other rules (hint: it involves throwing rocks — "good book"? How about "great book"?).
But despite the fact that there are rules for just about everything in that thing, there's probably nothing in the Bible that supports the concept of hot, skimpily-dressed angels falling from Heaven and relinquishing their immortality to presumably hook up with a dude that wears a spray-on deodorant. According to the Hollywood Reporter, this ad was banned by South Africa's Advertising Standards Authority for "offending members of the Christian faith." We can see why they'd come to that conclusion, but we might just be more offended by the fact that they think Axe is enough to bring down angels. Still... wouldn't hurt to try, right?