Latest CONTROVERSY articles

Cheers to the real ones

If there was a sensible topic to close out the year, it’s the one regarding scam or ghost ads. You know the ones, those ads that aren’t ads, which often reaped their lot of awards, and which have taken up, I say it with regret, a certain space in the “creative ” sections of industry publications and websites.

Malcolm Gladwell On Reinventing Innovation: Lesson Two

Recently, we at ihaveanidea were invited to attend a day-long conference on “reinventing innovation.” The event was hosted by Infopresse, a Quebec based publication geared towards advertising and marketing professionals. The speakers at the event included Anita Sands, VP and Chief of Innovation at Citi in New York, Lauent Simon, professor at HEC Montreal and [...]

Apparently, Tobacco Is Good For Some

Much controversy surrounds the topic of tobacco advertising, but to what extent, and how far, can this health versus wealth fight go? The tobacco companies have been around for some time now and thus its no wonder the outcry from regular citizens voicing their disapproval in incidents that happened back in 1994. Of those who [...]

Molson’s Had One Too Many

This review is in both official languages. Cet article est dans les deux langues officielles. Translation and proofreading courtesy of Dr. Doc
In the latest installment of Molson Canadian commercials, we encounter, what can only be supposed is a “cooler”, “hipper” evolution of the ever-popular leaf-waving Joe character from “The Rant”. In a representation of [...]

How To Draw A Line

Some people say that the advertising industry is run by out-of-control, money-hungry monsters, willing to sell their own soul if the price is right.
Some say the fact that police cruisers in Springfield Florida will soon be sporting advertising; that five people in England will, for a small compensation, be legally changing their names to that [...]

Gay Themes Rise In Commercials Worldwide

The gay community has gone from being invisible in mainstream advertising just 10 years ago to an unprecedented inclusion today, as advertisers around the world have dramatically warmed to including gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered people in their general marketing messages.
But the messages aren’t always positive. Commercials that include same-sex kisses, as well as classic [...]

Gay Ads In 2002 Lack Taste

It was a year that gays and lesbians were presented frequently as sexual predators in prisons and parks. A year that Enrique Iglesias loves a man holding potato chips, a friendly giraffe is comfortable with his feminine side, and MTV continues to set the standard for everyone. It was the Year in Gay Ads for [...]

Trojan Finally Gets Into Bed With Gays

Condoms and lubricant go together like porn and VCRs. While no condom marketers have fully taken the wrapper off the gay market yet, Trojan is slipping into gay media for the first time with its new lubricant, and initiating condom sampling.
Appearing in September issues of The Advocate and OUT with a small general market ad [...]

Exhaust-Ing Advertising

Big ole’ Toronto is a city that is known for its intricate urban plan that forces most commuters to spend a better part of their day waiting in traffic, stalled on the highway or impatiently wishing for that light to turn green. If sucking on the exhaust fumes of a trillion cars on the road [...]

The Fine Line Between Edgy And Offensive Advertising

Distinguishing between the two should be a relatively easy task. But more often than not, determining the difference between what’s cutting edge and what’s utterly offensive is a hard call to make. According to John Adams, chairperson of advertising at the International Academy of Design, “It’s all a matter of perspective. What people find offensive [...]