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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.

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