I enjoyed these “12 Banned and Controversial TV Ads.” I have to say I understand why all of them are banned. I like this one though: "Tidy Up" by IKEA:
In Japan, this famous TV ad for "Siren" (a PS game) was too scary and kids started to cry when they watched it.
It is understandable why those ads were banned. But there are some ads that were banned in Japan for stupid reasons. In a curry rice TV ad, a woman opens a fridge and says "Wow, I found some beef! I bought it before!?" Since beef is very expensive in Japan, people complained that they would not forget having bought beef and would not cook beef so casually. The situation made people uncomfortable and the ad was banned... orz
When Emperor Hirohito’s condition worsened, the part where a guy in a Toyota TV ad asked "Are you doing well?" was replaced with silence. Maybe Toyota thought it was impudent.