These Are The Most Tone-Deaf And Insensitive Ads Of All Time

Ad agencies are full of people who come up with some incredibly creative ideas to promote various products. But sometimes they miss the mark — and miss it by a huge margin. Every now an then an ad, commercial, or marketing campaign slips by that is so offensive, it’s unbelievable that no one caught it during the approval process. These ads have featured racist undertones, jokes about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and even assault and death. Check out the most tone-deaf ads of the 21st century (so far)…

Snapchat Ad Mocked The Domestic Violence Incident Involving Rihanna & Chris Brown

Photo credit: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for NARAS

In March 2018, Snapchat dropped an ad for a game that mocked pop star Rihanna’s domestic violence incident with former boyfriend Chris Brown. The ad for the game included photos of the two stars and asked users if they’d rather “slap Rihanna or punch Chris Brown.”

Rihanna was assaulted by Brown in 2009 when the two were a couple. Rihanna wrote in response to the ad: “I’d love to call it ignorance but I know you ain’t that dumb. You spent money to animate something that would intentionally bring shame to DV victims and made a joke of it.” Snapchat has since removed the ad and apologized for it.

Car manufacturers are repeat offenders in the “offensive ad” department, as we’ll see later…