Unilever, the parent company of both Axe and Dove, had to apologize for a rogue ad for Flora margarine that likens coming out of the closet to shooting your dad in the heart.
A poster shows the words "Uhh, Dad I'm gay" taking the form of a bullet flying towards a heart-shaped butter dish. The copy reads: "You need a strong heart today."
This advert was prepared by an external agency in South Africa and was not approved by anyone at Unilever. The advert is offensive and unacceptable and we have put an immediate stop to it.
Unilever is proud of the support that our brands have given to LGBT people, including our recent campaign for Ben & Jerry’s on equal marriage.
Ad agency Lowe and Partners Johannesburg then backtracked on the ad, telling The Drum, ""I would like to unreservedly apologise for this campaign and the unintended offence it has regrettably caused."
Major companies often find themselves embroiled in social media fueled controversies over supposedly unapproved ads created by small, foreign ad agencies.
For example, Ford got in trouble for an ad it claimed JWT India created for the Fiat that was never approved before it was released online. The poster showed former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi flashing a peace sign in a car that held three, bound and crying, voluptuous women in the trunk.
FORD: A team from JWT India posted an ad for the Ford Figo (in which Silvio Berlusconi ties up and gags crying women in the trunk of his car) on Ads of the World. It wasn't meant to be distributed.
There was also an ad with a winking Paris Hilton getting ready to dispose of the scantily clad Kardashians, her reality television competition. Both WPP Group and Ford apologized.
OREO: Cheil Worldwide in Korea posted this "Milk's Favorite Cookie" poster in 2012 on Ads of the World. It incited positive and negative backlash. Kraft USA issued a statement that it never ran and "was created by our agency for a one-time use at an advertising forum."
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