Who Decides What's OK & What's Not?

I am totally for relaxation on censorship of language and behaviour, challenging norms, breaking perceptions, not making any topic a taboo. But I do find that I often argue with myself regarding the same matter. The basic question being, who gets to define what is within the bounds of 'good taste'. 

Taste and preferences are highly personalised and therefore hard to lay general guidelines for. To highlight my point, lets take a point of reference that I am exposed to and can share with you. Fastrack is a brand that always has trendy, edgy brand communications, pushing the latest social trends and breaking social norms, with the tag line 'Move On'. Now, I am a fan of a few of their ads, for example the ones below:



Now I like these ads, for the same reasons I mentioned above. But the very same brand has a few ad films that I find near distasteful. For example:



Now, same brand, same style, same themes. But in both cases, I had very different reactions to them, but there was no need. I found them all entertaining, but for some reason, the last two, at the end, made me cringe for a millisecond. In my view, they seem to be promoting cheating on your partner and sex encounters in public places, but suggestively without actually saying it. Now, it is cool, but considering the impact that brands have on their viewers and consumers, I find myself arguing whether it is okay or not. But its not my decision, nor should it be anyone's to dictate what is and what isn't. They played by the rules, there was no nudity, no foul language, nothing of the sort. But that's my point, why did I react to them differently than the first two?

And just this morning, I saw bike with a bumper sticker that said "Conserve Water. Bathe with the neighbour's daughter". Now, that is simply inappropriate in my opinion. The owner of the bike is entitled to it, but to display it blatantly and proudly seems offensive to all parents. I mean its hard enough to be open about dating in this country and it is because of douchebags like those in the first place. Same goes for all those commercials that show that a man can get laid because of their product. Its showing women in poor light that they'll bang a guy if he's wearing the right brand of underwear or deodorant. Now, I'm sure there are some out there who do find those as the primary filters for choosing sexual partners but the generalisation is almost criminal.

But then, who am I to decide what's okay or not? Like fastrack, keep the visuals clean, avoid foul language, and you can advertise with any messaging you think would help sell your product to your target consumers. Right?

What do you think about it? Feel free to share and comment. Thanks for reading!

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