20 Confounding TV Commercials That People Demanded Be Taken Off The Air

Advertisers are always looking for the next "Wazzup!" style success. But unlike Geico insurance, making commercials isn't easy, and cavemen cannot do it alone. Even billion-dollar companies with top-tier marketing teams make absolutely terrible ads! And they're not just bad; they're pretty offensive. The backlash to some of the following was so severe, in fact, that they had to be taken off the air.

Tango: Orange Man

U.K. soft drink company Tango used the Orange Man character to show the power of its fruit flavors. In a sports play-by-play recap, the Orange Man enters undetected and slaps the drinker on both sides of their face. The problem? Soon enough, school kids were mimicking the slaps, causing several injuries and public outrage.

Edeka: Christmas Commercial

German grocery chain Edeka toyed with guilt in its ad about a lonely grandpa who can't see his family for Christmas. Then it shifts to a montage of relatives grieving his passing, but surprise! Grandpa faked his death! Critics felt using elder loneliness as a sales tactic was inappropriate, and we see their point.

Desigual: Mother’s Day

For the Mother's Day holiday, Spanish clothing company Desigual produced a provocative ad with a confusing message. In it, a woman admires her outfit in a mirror, then stuffs a pillow in her dress to create a baby bump. Before she leaves, though, she pokes holes in several condoms. Yikes.

Apple: Lemmings

Back in 1985, Apple released a bleak ad of suited, blindfolded, whistling workers slowly marching off a cliff. It's punctuated by a voice-over announcing the release of their computers as another option. Yeah, you read that all correctly. Makes those slick iPhone ads seem palatable by comparison!