Badvertising refers to negative, public comments made about a company which cannot legaly be classed as either libel or
slander, as rather than being factually incorrect they simply represent an individual's
opinion.
For example, the
BBC does not allow the advertising of products on its stations. If a viewer rang in to a phone-in and said (live on-air) "Coca
Cola is great!", the
BBC would have to apologise for this remark as it would constitute an advertisment (of sorts) for the company in question. However, if a viewer was to ring in and say "Coca
Cola is rubbish!", the
BBC would also have to apologise for the 'advertisment'. In this case, though, the company in question does not benefit from the negative publicity, and so rather than it being free advertising, it is termed badvertising (a portmanteau of 'bad advertising').
The term was coined by Ian Sadler, a Cambridge University undergraduate, in
2006, although it was used colloquially prior to this (and still is) to refer to bad quality and poorly thought out advertising strategies or campaigns.
