Ten adverts that shocked the world

Advertising is a world in which the normal is beautified, cracks are airbrushed over and real-life is portrayed with rose tinted glasses. And all with the intention of getting the consumers to buy into such ideals.

It is all the more uncomfortable therefore when advertisers seek to shock rather than tantalise, although the effect can be incredible as we have seen today, following the controversy sparked by a French anti-smoking group's poster campaign (right).

We've picked nine other controversial advertising campaigns to test how the shock factor compares.