June 3rd, 2022, Janice Fernandes
With standards changing all the time and the recent ban of these Adidas and Tesco Mobile ads, we asked consumers in the US and Great Britain what they would consider to be offensive in advertising broadcast today. The responses show a surprisingly liberal set of attitudes across both markets.
Body shaming is the issue that registers the most negative reactions from consumers in both Great Britain and US. More than half of consumers (57% GB and 55% US) consider advertisements that contain negative or inappropriate messaging about a person’s weight or size to be offensive. Cultural appropriation follows, with around 50% of consumers from both markets revealing their aversion to advertisers who show cultural elements of a minority group in an exploitative, disrespectful, or stereotypical way (50% GB and 51% US).
Almost two in five Britons (37%) are likely to find advertisements with religious messages or undertones to be offensive. However, Americans are more likely to find full nudity (40%) and gender stereotyping (36%) objectionable than ads with religious undertones (32%).
Full nudity, sexually suggestive images and gender stereotypes (34% each) are found to be equally distasteful in Britain. Slightly fewer Brits find swearing offensive, but they still account for nearly a third of consumers (30%). Fewer Americans (27%) are put off by swearing and fewer than two in ten Americans find portrayal of addiction to be offensive (17%) – Brits register 20%.
The only categories where Americans are significantly more likely to be offended than Brits are same-sex relationships (26% US vs. 12% GB), partial nudity (23% US vs. 11% GB) and consumption of alcohol (10% US vs. 5% GB).
Reporting offensive advertisements
Overall, 47% of Americans reveal that they would report an ad if they find it offensive. Slightly fewer Brits (45%) say ‘yes’ and an almost similar share say ‘no’ (43%).
When split by generation, in Britain younger consumers are as likely to report an ad they find inappropriate as they are to not report it – 40% of Gen Z pick ‘yes’ and 40% pick 'no’. Millennials and Baby Boomers are more likely to report an offensive advert (46% and 48% respectively). However, Gen X and the Silent Generation are more likely to say they would not report the ad, with more than half of the Silent Generation registering saying ‘no’ (46% and 52% respectively).
On the other hand, Americans across generations are more likely to report an ad that's objectionable to them. More than two in five Gen Z (47%), Millennial (43%) and Gen X (45%) consumers say they would report an ad. That share goes up to more than half among Boomer (53%) and Silent Generation (56%) consumers.
Boycott of brands
When asked how likely or unlikely are they are to boycott a brand they found offensive, a majority of consumers in the US and GB say they are likely to stop buying from that brand (70% each). However, there is a slight attitudinal difference between generations across markets.
American Boomers and Silent Gen register the highest share of consumers who say they’re likely to boycott a brand if their ad is offensive (82% and 87% respectively). This principle is shared by Gen Z-ers in Britain as 80% pick ‘likely’, followed by slightly fewer Baby Boomers and Silent Generation (78% each).
Millennials and Gen X consumers share similar opinions across both countries. More than three in five Millennials (62% GB; 65% US) and Gen X (65% GB; 61% US) are likely to cut off a brand because of an advertisement that they find disrespectful.
In a surprising twist, data indicates than nearly three in five Gen Z Americans (60%) are not likely to boycott a brand if their advertisement is offensive. They are the only group across generations and markets to have such a high share of consumers to pick ‘unlikely’.
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Methodology
US:
YouGov polled 1,200 US adults on May 20-21, 2022, between 18:45 and 02:40 IST. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, political affiliation, and ethnicity. Results are nationally representative of adults in the United States. Learn more about YouGov Direct.
Great Britain:
YouGov polled 1,200 British adults on May 20-21, 2022, between 18:44 and 03:37 IST. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. Results are nationally representative of adults in Great Britain. Learn more about YouGov Direct.