Advertisements are the #1 victims of this Trope. There are many reasons for advertisement pulling, most notably public outrage over something considered "
in bad taste." Fortunately, some missing advertisements have survived over the years through VHS tapes and recordings, and as a result they are widely shown throughout the Internet. Otherwise, you're shit out of luck if you miss your favorite advertisement and want to see it again.
- A federal law, the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, banned the advertising of cigarettes on television and radio, effective January 2, 1971. A 1967 FCC decision had required stations to air anti-smoking ads, and those ads continue to this day. As for the tobacco ads, only a handful of them (most notably the Flintstones Winston cigarette ads) are widely available on the Internet, and others may be lost forever.
- A Burger King commercial featured a scientist chasing the The Burger King himself and shouting out "Stop that King. He's crazy!
". It was pulled following legal threats by various mental healthcare groups, and hasn't aired since then. Supposedly, McDonald's may have also shared displeasure with the ad, but that was for a completely different reason (possibly the price it advertised in the commercial).
- Apple's famous "1984" commercial, which introduced the Macintosh. Originally shown as a Super Bowl Special, it was pulled from circulation following copyright infringement accusations from the George Orwell estate. That doesn't stop it from showing up in "Best Ads" compilations, though.
