Very interesting website which shows more controversial commercial is www.heraldsun.com.au. There are many commercial pictures from brands such as Benetton, Dolce a Gabbana, Lee, etc.
Other website focusing at the issue of controversial advertising is www.bbcnews.com.ukhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4943500.stm. BBC News chose ten most controversial commercials over last year, put pictures of them and make brief comments. I think that it is interesting to see how advertising companies get their ideas and how creative they could be.
Third interesting web page focus on controversial commercials made in the fashion industry. The site show us the most shocking fashion adverts which were published in the fashion history. These fashion ads are made for the most famous fashion designers. Most of them are full of sexual undertone, some very shocking like Tom Ford man male perfume.
However, these adverts are original and people talk about them for long time. And it is important because it is sign of well done and creative commercial.
www.debonairmag.com/the_most_controversial_ads_in_fashion_history.htm
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Gucci hairy advert is very controversal, shocking and with sexual undertone as you can see on the picture. Gucci marks the spot with a G in their latest magazine campaign Model Carmen Kass is pictured as she is pulling down her knickers and showing off body hair shaved into the letter ‘G’. Mario Testino who shot the image calls it ’Pubic Enemy’. Some people have called the image ‘vile, coarse and degrading to women’. The advert is fascinating on one hand and very different and sexual on the other hand. The famous photographer Mario Testino always shock people by his controversial piece of art. The Gucci’s advert is very sexy and therefore can scandalize or insult many people, especially in very conservative countries such as England.
The Advertising Standards Authority in the UK, which has the power to ban offensive material, said it was investigating after receiving a number of complaints.
“The companies involved clearly release these kind of pictures to create as much publicity as possible, but it’s a thoroughly unpleasant and irresponsible tactic. We can’t simply ignore them.
Imagery showing young women in this way is extremely
harmful to society, and should not be appearing in mainstream magazines.
The ASA has a duty to ensure that advertisements are decent,
and this clearly isn’t. It’s deeply offensive and should
be banned immediately.”
A spokesman for Gucci lets us know:
“All our important players are in Milan at the moment
and nobody is around to speak about the picture.
” Toasting in grappa, for a controversial stunt well done, I’m sure.
Here is a link which show you the whole article: http://commercial-archive.com/node/7441
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United Colors of Benetton try to join the circle of trust and tolerance by unifying white, black and yellow races together. 
The advertising philosophy of United Colors of Benetton is based on Luciano Benetton’s belief that
‘communication should not be commissioned from outside the company, but conceived from within its heart.’
From that assumption stems the advertising strategy of a brand that has aimed, for over 20 years, to create “value” by capitalizing on an image. A company that emphasizes value and chooses to create value is no longer communicating with the consumer but with the individual. Actual consumption is repositioned within the overall context of life. By entering the universe of values, the brand frees the product from the world of merchandise and manufacturing and makes it a social being of its own. By addressing an individual rather than a customer, the brand can identify its target on the basis not of age or income, but of a shared vision of what is important, starting from a set of common values. Benetton became a global force in just a few years—the United Colors concept spread from encompassing the different races to the ideas of tolerance, peace and respect for diversity.
The cycle of difference
Benetton’s long journey toward its destiny as a subverter of stereotypes began with its cooperation with Oliviero Toscani and the images of the 1986 campaign. Happy groups of multiracial kids were replaced by “couples” representing an all-new interpretation of difference. In this cycle, the word “different” became a close cousin of “controversial.” Benetton learned that dealing with the issue of difference within the process of advertising is not an easy task. Often, an attempt to bring different individuals together can lead to conflict instead of happiness and euphoria.
Many ads from the period were an expression of this process. One represented religious and political conflict (the Palestinian and the Israeli):
Another depicted religious and sexual conflict (a priest kissing a nun), and yet another portrayed moral conflict (the stereotypes of good and evil, symbolized by an angel and the devil.
Oliviero Toscani (b. 1942 is an Italian photographer, best-known worldwide for designing controversial advertising campaigns for Italian brand Benetton, from 1982 to 2000. Most of these advertising campaigns were actually institutionals for the brand, always composed of rather controversial photography, usually with only the company logo “United Colors of Benetton” as caption.
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