Do you ever see an advertisement and wonder how it got released to the public without a single person on the marketing team raising their hand and saying, “This might actually be a terrible ad?”
A bad advertisement is kind of like a multi-vehicle car crash. You know you should turn away, but sometimes you can’t help yourself from looking – even as you cringe and thank your lucky stars that you are not the advertising executive who signed off on the ad.
The moral of the story is not to cut corners when it comes to putting in the effort to understand your audience, craft a clear message, and create quality visuals. Beyond these shocking examples, we’ll explore why such mistakes happen and offer practical ways to avoid them in your advertising efforts. And here’s the silver lining: after sharing some of our favorite “bad ads,” we’ll walk you through how brands can recover from advertising disasters.
Examples of bad advertisements
There’s no singular definition of a bad advertisement. In the words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, when asked to define pornography, “I know it when I see it.”
Get ready to laugh (or gasp in horror) when you see these 8 advertising fails and the lessons they teach us.
1) Dettol
Dettol created a killer ad campaign – literally. The ad featured an image of a guy who had just stabbed someone and created a bloody crime scene. The caption, “When ordinary soap just won’t do,” suggested that if you’re going to make someone unalive, this is the product to help you clean up the mess. Murder is illegal, mmmkay?
2) Reebok
Reebok tried to get clever by targeting people who “cheat” on their workouts. Their campaign included the controversial suggestion: “Cheat on your girlfriend, not on your workout.” This billboard series in Germany backfired spectacularly, as it seemed to promote infidelity, not fitness.
3) WWF
The World Wildlife Fund shocked audiences with an ad comparing the 9/11 tragedy to a tsunami. The campaign included a video simulation of the terrorist attack and trivialized the fatalities by stating the 2005 tsunami in Asia killed 100,000 more people than 9/11. Comparing tragedies in a “mine is bigger” manner? Definitely not a good flex.
4) Pepsi
If you haven’t seen that catastrophic Pepsi ad featuring Kendall Jenner yet, you’re in for a treat. The ad depicts social unrest protests in a party-like atmosphere, and Jenner bridges the gap by offering a Pepsi to a police officer who’s there to keep the peace and neutralize protestors if things get out of control.
The ad reeks of trivializing and politicizing the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and even Martin Luther King’s daughter had an opinion about the insensitive ad, saying, “If only Daddy would have known about the power of Pepsi.”
5) Bud Light
Bud Light is no stranger to having bad ad examples, and one of the most hilariously bad examples of a Bud Light ad is when the company created an entire campaign out of the idea that the word “No” doesn’t necessarily mean no. The campaign featured a tagline that read, “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night.”
While the aim of the ad was to be lighthearted and suggest that there’s a whole new world of possibilities that can open up for you when you drink Bud Light, like playing tennis with Arnold Schwarzenegger at a OneRepublic concert, that was not the interpretation. The public was horrified, pointing out that it suggested that giving someone a Bud Light can make it easier to take advantage of them sexually.
6) H&M – The “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” Hoodie
H&M faced global backlash after releasing a promotional image of a young Black boy wearing a hoodie with the phrase “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.” Critics accused the brand of racial insensitivity, highlighting the need for greater awareness in advertising decisions. Although H&M issued an apology and pulled the ad, the incident damaged its reputation and sparked calls for boycotts.
7) Heineken – “Sometimes, Lighter Is Better”
Heineken aired an ad showing a light beer bottle sliding past several people of color before stopping in front of a lighter-skinned woman, accompanied by the tagline “Sometimes, lighter is better.” The ad was criticized for its racial undertones. Heineken removed the ad, but it was a stark reminder of how subtle messaging can be interpreted negatively.
8) Red Lobster – “We’re on a Roll”
After Beyoncé mentioned Red Lobster in a viral song lyric, the brand tweeted their response hours later: “You can still catch the queen bee buzz with us—#WereOnARoll!” While the pun was lighthearted, the delayed response cost them a rare opportunity to capitalize on trending media.
Lesson: Act quickly and authentically when responding to pop culture moments to avoid missing out.
Why bad ads happen
Even major brands can falter when key steps are overlooked. Here are some common reasons:
Rushed processes
In the fast-paced world of advertising, deadlines can lead to shortcuts in review processes. For instance, the controversial Pepsi ad might have been avoided with more thorough feedback loops and diverse input during development.
Lack of diverse perspectives
Teams lacking diversity can inadvertently create content that doesn’t resonate with—or even offends—certain audience segments. Ensuring a diverse team of creators and reviewers can help avoid these pitfalls.
Overconfidence in provocation
Sometimes, brands take risks in an attempt to stand out, but provocative campaigns often cross the line. A classic example is Calvin Klein’s ads featuring overly suggestive themes that alienated segments of their audience.
Technology missteps
Automated content or AI-generated campaigns can unintentionally lead to insensitive or misaligned ads if not properly supervised by human teams.
Cultural sensitivity
Most brands have diverse audiences, which requires being sensitive to cultural differences and avoiding misunderstandings or offensive messages, whether intentional or on purpose.
While there’s an element of common sense to being culturally sensitive, we’re all human, and it’s all too easy to make a mistake without realizing that something might be off-putting.
Tips for Cultural Sensitivity
- Research different cultures: If anything in an ad even suggests something about another culture, be sure you’ve thoroughly researched it and surveyed members of that group to confirm it’s not offensive.
- Avoid stereotypes and generalizations: In the 1950s, it might have been culturally acceptable to suggest “women belong in the kitchen” and men are the boss of the house, but this stuff doesn’t fly in the 21st century.
- Be aware of subtleties in different languages: Every culture has its own idioms, expressions, and references. Understand these audience reference points before creating an ad.
- Send your team to cultural sensitivity training: Being aware of cultural differences is a prerequisite for being able to create appropriate campaigns. Many of these trainings will highlight examples of ineffective advertising to help teams avoid making the same mistakes.
- Consult with cultural experts: No matter how many surveys or test campaigns you do, there’s still a chance something can fall through the cracks. Before launching a major campaign, we recommend meeting with experts in various cultures and exposing your ad to focus groups to identify any potential red flags.
- Avoid sensitive topics: You might think you’re being avant-garde, but the risk is simply too high. We’re sure Dettol thought they were being edgy with their murder cleanup campaign, but the ad totally missed the mark.
Effects of Bad Advertisements
Poorly executed ads can have far-reaching consequences for a brand, including the following:
- Decrease in brand reputation: A single bad or misleading ad can damage a brand’s reputation and erode consumer trust. Further, the backlash from one of these ads can tarnish the brand’s image and lead to a loss of credibility.
- Financial cost: Consumers vote with their dollars, so a bad advertisement can cause them to spend those dollars elsewhere. In addition to lost sales, cleaning up the mess from a bad advertisement can be expensive. And no amount of Dettol can fix that.
- Leaving customers: When your customers leave, it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t need your product. Instead, they’ll switch brands, and you might never get them to come back.
How to recover from a bad advertisement
No one is perfect, so it is good to know that recovering from a bad ad is possible. You can mitigate the negative impacts on business performance and rebuild trust with your customers if you take the following advice to heart:
- Acknowledge and apologize: Do this as quickly as possible and be authentic. Your audience will see right through an insincere apology.
- Take corrective action: Move as quickly as possible to revise the ad or remove it from the public eye.
- Follow through on your promises: Rebuilding trust is vital after a bad ad. Show that you are accountable, learning from your past mistakes, and then strive to uphold the right standards for future ads.
- Make amends: If your ad harmed people, make it right. Consider offering discounts, refunds, loyalty rewards, or other incentives to encourage your customers to stick with you.
- Proactively Engage Your Audience: Host Q&A sessions or surveys to gather feedback and show your willingness to listen and improve.
How to make sure your ad doesn’t get canceled
There’s no way to guarantee 100% that you won’t create a bad ad in your career, but the following steps are as close as possible to a sure thing:
- Have multiple sets of eyes. Never operate in a vacuum. Be sure to have a team of people review your ad, including marketers, legal advisors, and cultural experts.
- Keep your finger on the pulse of your audience. Monitor the evolving values and preferences of your target demographic to ensure that your message is on point.
- Study what has worked in the past. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, it is often okay to stick with what works.
- Pay attention to current events. Some of the worst ads would have been perfectly acceptable had it not been for a recent tragic event. For example, a headline like “You survived the Boston Marathon” was okay before the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, but it’s not okay to use now.
Conclusion
The bad ads you’ve just read about are cautionary tales. They’re entertaining, sure, but they also remind us that even big brands can miss the mark. By learning from these mistakes, you can avoid similar pitfalls and create ads that resonate for the right reasons. Thank you for reading—and here’s to better advertising!
