The 10 most complained about UK adverts of 2017

The 10 most complained about adverts of 2017 in the UK have been revealed, with fast food chain KFC topping the list.

The KFC advert featuring a chicken strutting around to rap music attracted 755 complaints and was considered "distressing to chickens and distressing for vegetarians, vegans and children", because of its implication that the bird was headed for slaughter.

The complaints in that case were not upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Other adverts which attracted high numbers of complaints included Moneysupermarket's long-running #epicsquads of strutters and builders, and a Dove ad about breast-feeding, which was removed.

Two of the ads - Match.com and Maltesers - were from campaigns which also featured in 2016’s top 10, meaning these have continued to court controversy over two years.

The ASA's top 10 most complained about ads of 2017:

1. KFC

755 Complaints – Not upheld

KFC's ad received complaints that it was disrespectful to chickens and distressing for vegetarians, vegans and children, since it depicted a chicken that was heading for slaughter. The ASA ruled it was unlikely that the ad would cause distress or serious or widespread offence as there were no explicit references to animal slaughter.

2. Moneysupermarket

455 Complaints – Not upheld

This Moneysupermarket.com campaign also featured in the top 10 for 2015 and 2016. Like many of the ads in the same campaign, 2017’s ad featured the two #epicsquads – the strutters and the builders – and a new female character.

Many found the ad to be offensive on the grounds that it was overtly sexual and possibly homophobic. The ASA thought the character’s movements would generally be seen as dance moves and not in a sexual context. They also thought most viewers would recognise the ad’s intended take on humour.

3. Dove

391 Complaints – Not investigated; ads removed

Dove produced a series of ads that contained statistics and opinions about breastfeeding in public. The ads were featured across magazines, social media, and Dove’s website. Many criticised the language, such as “put them away”, as it might encourage criticism of breastfeeding. Some were also concerned that the ads might encourage neglecting crying babies. After listening to the public, Dove issued an apology and subsequently pulled the ads and amended their website.

4. Match.com

293 Complaints – Not upheld

Match.com’s ad, starring a lesbian couple kissing passionately, appears again in the list of most complained about ads. The ASA received similar complaints last year, when it was number three on the list, about whether the ad was too sexually explicit for children to see. They ruled then that the ad did not cross the line. Over the two years, the ad has attracted almost 1,200 complaints.

5. McDonald’s

256 Complaints – Not investigated; ads removed