With a £15m spend across TV, online, poster and print media, the campaign hinges on a microsite (/discuss.aol.co.uk) that encourages the public to respond to the advertising with their own views.
Media buying is by Vizeum, with creative work from Grey.
The ISP's new strategy sees it move beyond its much heralded positioning as a family portal and its brand character, Connie.
Instead it opts to show two sides of the internet - good and bad - in separate creative executions.
In its first week, the campaign - which broke on New Year's Day - ran solely with the "bad" execution featuring filmic snapshots of Osama Bin Laden, atom bombs, skinheads and pornography.
It describes the internet as "a way for the unhinged to spread evil" and "mankind to exercise its darkest desires".
This week will see an equal weight of both ads running simultaneously in the television spots it has booked for January. AOL views this as an opportunity to reintroduce balance into the discussion.
Philip Hale, communications manager at AOL, explained: "Our first week's media strategy aimed at detaching ourselves from our old image and getting people talking. It has certainly done this.
"We hope that a weekend of solely 'good' executions and a mixed weight thereafter will counteract the controversy generated in week one."
Hale added that the move is a shift in AOL's traditional role of educating the family.
"Ten years ago, our role was to nurture the family and guide them through the internet. The 21st Century has seen more awareness and knowledge, as people's issues surrounding it are more vast and complicated."
AOL claims it has experienced a surge of online discussion in the first week, with the issue of whether the internet is good or bad attracting more than 500 responses.
Despite the first week's weighting, 81% of people polled on its microsite still view the internet positively.
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