Archive for the ‘When Ads Go Bad’ Category

When Ads Go Bad

Posted on: May 7th, 2012 by Melissa No Comments

Welcome back to our “When Ads Go Bad” blog series! Unlike past weeks, we do not have a specific bad ads theme this week. This collaboration is just a few ads that caught our eye – but not in a good way. We hope you enjoy this week’s installment!

Shouldn’t the point be to convince the man that he wants to shell out thousands of dollars on a ring? Not to make him second guess his decision on the basis that he will lose control of everything?

Sorry to tell you (and sorry that none of your “friends” mentioned it) but your mouse doesn’t look like a mouse…

This is the first of two ads that I have found for a brand of dark chocolate. This ad is incredibly disturbing, not to mention that it’s nearly impossible to figure out what the ad is for. Now that we’ve pointed out the obvious, who’s hungry for some chocolate??

No worries, little girl, you’re friend is just poisoning your tea while trying to sell chocolate. Don’t feel bad, we don’t understand the connection either.

If you would like to report of an Ad Gone Bad, people contact us at info@transformationmarketing.com.

Note: We are a marketing firm, not a law firm. We are not aware of any copyright laws we may be violating by posting pictures of advertisements that are in the public domain to this blog. This site is just for fun. If you own the rights to any of the pictures or ads posted and feel that violated your copyright, please contact me and we will remove it. If you want us to fix your marketing mishap we can do that too.

 

When Ads Go Bad: Poorly Placed Internet Ads

Posted on: May 2nd, 2012 by Melissa No Comments

Internet ads are a great marketing tool – if used correctly. We understand that sometimes the placement of these ads just can’t be helped. But in the case of these ads we have picked, we wish that someone would’ve been paying closer attention. Though we do get a kick out of some of these mistakes, some of them are just plain wrong. Sit back and enjoy, poorly placed internet ads.

I guess they do probably go hand in hand…can’t imagine the World of Warcraft fanatics were thrilled about this ad placement though!

 

Not the most efficient use of ad space for Folgers. I’m definitely not reaching for my second cup now!

 

 

Wait, you’re selling WHAT?!?! Guess you really can buy anything on E-Bay!

 

I’m sure this is just a crazy coincidence! I’m guessing not many people clipped this coupon!

 

“oops” would be an understatement here…

 

We hope you enjoyed Ad Placement Gone Bad. If you would like to report of an Ad Gone Bad, please contact us atinfo@transformationmarketing.com.

Note: We are a marketing firm, not a law firm. We are not aware of any copyright laws we may be violating by posting pictures of advertisements that are in the public domain to this blog. This site is just for fun. If you own the rights to any of the pictures or ads posted and feel that violated your copyright, please contact me and we will remove it. If you want us to fix your marketing mishap we can do that too.

Old Ads Gone Bad

Posted on: April 23rd, 2012 by Melissa No Comments

While there are some wonderful things to remember about the 1950′s, like Explorer I, the first U.S. satellite to successfully orbit the earth, Alaska and Hawaii becoming the 49th and 50th states and Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a public bus, these methods of advertising are not some of them. We will share with you here some of the ads that might have worked during this era, but certainly would not fly in this day and age. You will notice a common theme of sexism against women and other socially unacceptable means of marketing. We hope you enjoy “Old Ads Gone Bad”!

 

With women being the most influential buyer in the household here in the 21st Century, this ad certainly would not fly these days.

Just wondering if anyone really thought this through? These days, this would be considered pretty racy.

Men as the dominating gender is a common theme for this era. Can’t say we care for it… Nor would we recommend it these days.

Annnd, here it is again! Not only is this belittling to women, but this ad would have a whole new meaning these days.

 

These ads just prove that the line we hear oh so often, “Well, it’s worked for us in the past,” just doesn’t fly. It is important to keep up with the times in your business and in marketing. Otherwise, your company could be left in the smoke.

 

We hope you have enjoyed Old Ads Gone Bad. If you would like to report of an Ad Gone Bad, please contact us at info@transformationmarketing.com.

Note: We are a marketing firm, not a law firm. We are not aware of any copyright laws we may be violating by posting pictures of advertisements that are in the public domain to this blog. This site is just for fun. If you own the rights to any of the pictures or ads posted and feel that violated your copyright, please contact me and we will remove it. If you want us to fix your marketing mishap we can do that too.

Ads Gone Unconventional

Posted on: April 16th, 2012 by Melissa No Comments

Unconventional…  Different… Strange… Borderline… Just Plain Weird. These might be terms you use to describe the following ads. But does that make them bad? We don’t think so! There’s a fine line between strange and inappropriate, and we say as long as you stay on the strange side of the line, go for it!

One of our most successful blogs we’ve written to date was our “If these ads don’t catch your eye, we don’t know what will!” blog about Guerrilla Marketing. Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional method of marketing where you think outside of the box, take marketing to the next level, and try things that haven’t been done before. We’ve done this with a few of our clients, and we’ve found that it’s one of the most fun and successful ways to market your business. So, although Guerrilla Marketing is normally a whole new way of marketing, we consider these print ads to borderline that title.

Welcome to Ads Gone Unconventional!

 

Yowsa! This Listerine ad sure catches your eye. Did you laugh a little? Us too. You’ll remember this one, won’t you?

 

This is obviously an exaggeration for these “fast acting laxatives”, but it’s certainly funnier than heck, too. Another one that will stick with you!

 

You looked twice, didn’t you? Then this ad was a success.

 

We thought this would be a good one to end on. Words do not describe. This ad says it all.

 

Now, we just want to end by saying: Again, there is a fine line between unconventional and inappropriate. These ads stay on the safe side of that line, but there is a point where although you might be catching the viewers’ eye, you might also be turning them off of your product with your message. (See Ads Gone Inappropriate)

 

We hope you have enjoyed this installment of Ads Gone Bad. If you would like to report of an Ad Gone Bad, please contact us at info@transformationmarketing.com.

Note: We are a marketing firm, not a law firm. We are not aware of any copyright laws we may be violating by posting pictures of advertisements that are in the public domain to this blog. This site is just for fun. If you own the rights to any of the pictures or ads posted and feel that violated your copyright, please contact me and we will remove it. If you want us to fix your marketing mishap we can do that too.

Ads Gone Inappropriate

Posted on: April 2nd, 2012 by Admin 1 Comment

 

We know that everyone just couldn’t wait for our Ads Gone Inappropriate, so we didn’t want to keep you hanging any longer! In this installment, we will explore ads that are just plain inappropriate and wrong. They may be attention grabbing and you might even find them funny, but most are slightly socially unacceptable (at best). So, if you are easily offended, please be aware that these ads are going under our “Ads Gone Inappropriate” blog for a reason. We consider these ads to either be borderline or way over the line on what is acceptable to put out there with your company’s name on it.

 

Now, this isn’t an actual advertisement, just a flaw in the naming of this company. We realize that whoever opened this salon did not understand this American slang. But I hope someone explained it to them…

 

Why? Just why would they choose these words to describe their diving destinations??

 

Couldn’t have found a better phrase to use? Really?

 

Do you see what I see? Did whoever created this logo see what I see?

 

Well, that concludes our Ads Gone Inappropriate. We hope that you enjoyed and are not too scarred from these marketing failures. If you would like to report of an Ad Gone Bad, please contact us at info@transformationmarketing.com.

Note: We are a marketing firm, not a law firm. We are not aware of any copyright laws we may be violating by posting pictures of advertisements that are in the public domain to this blog. This site is just for fun. If you own the rights to any of the pictures or ads posted and feel that violated your copyright, please contact me and we will remove it. If you want us to fix your marketing mishap we can do that too.

 

Ad Placement Gone Bad

Posted on: March 26th, 2012 by Admin No Comments

 

 

You may have noticed we took a couple weeks off our “Ads Gone Bad” series but it is back! We took some time to build up our bad ads and now we are back with one of our funniest yet – “Ad Placement Gone Bad”! Now these placements aren’t necessarily at the fault of the company being advertised, the marketing company or the designer but just remember, it never hurts to ask what is going to be advertised next to you!

Here we go!

It’s just…wrong…and what does a carrot have to do with thirst anyways??

 

Exactly what ARE your eyes fixed upon right now??

 

 

They kind of just ruin each other’s spotlight

 

 

Who even let this happen??

 

 

Just in case you get carried away at the gun show…

 

Sure, entice them and then shatter their hopes!

 

 

We hope you enjoyed Ad Placement Gone Bad. Stay tuned for the next installment of Ads Gone Bad, Ads Gone Inappropriate!

If you would like to report of an Ad Gone Bad, please contact us at info@transformationmarketing.com.

Note: We are a marketing firm, not a law firm. We are not aware of any copyright laws we may be violating by posting pictures of advertisements that are in the public domain to this blog. This site is just for fun. If you own the rights to any of the pictures or ads posted and feel that violated your copyright, please contact me and we will remove it. If you want us to fix your marketing mishap we can do that too.

 

 

When Facebook Posts Go Bad

Posted on: February 20th, 2012 by Lacy No Comments

Facebook, like Twitter, is a fantastic social tool that we’ve seen many companies have great success with in the past. However, like always, this type of marketing works… when used correctly.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m going to quickly recap the points to brought up in the Tweets Gone Bad blog, since they are also very relevant for Facebook.

1. If you don’t know how to use it, don’t learn using your business page.

2. Learn how to connect to your audience; don’t oversell.

 

We’ve also addressed how to handle negative feedback in past blogs. (See: Negative Feedback: How it can HELP your company) But here’s a sample of what NOT to do:

Nestle was apparently fed up with spam on their wall, so instead of simply deleting truly irrelevant posts (like we do, here at Transformation Marketing), here’s the post they sent out:

“This page is for fans of Nestlé. Linkspamming, abuse etc will be removed, and repeat offenders will be excluded… we welcome your comments, but please don’t post using an altered version of any of our logos as your profile pic – they will be deleted.”

Now, this alone was unnecessary, but when they started catching heat for this, they took their blunder even further by responding like this:

Needless to say, we don’t recommend talking this way to your customers.

 

The Balance

There are a few balances to Facebook. One balance includes an audience and good content. The other balance includes overposting and underposting.

You can be putting out the best content in the world, but if no one is seeing it, it’s worthless. On the other hand, you can have a huge audience, and if your content is… excuse my french… crap, then it’s, again, worthless.

If you’re only posting once a month, you’re page is likely to be forgotten. If you’re posting 3-4 times a day, you’re page is likely to be overlooked when you actually post something important. (Keep in mind that there are times when it’s okay to overpost, but those occasions are few and far between.)

 

If you would like to report of an Ad Gone Bad, please contact us at info@transformationmarketing.com.

 

Note: We are a marketing firm, not a law firm. We are not aware of any copyright laws we may be violating by posting pictures of advertisements that are in the public domain to this blog. This site is just for fun. If you own the rights to any of the pictures or ads posted and feel that violated your copyright, please contact me and we will remove it. If you want us to fix your marketing mishap we can do that too.

When Signs Go Bad – Round Two

Posted on: February 13th, 2012 by Lacy No Comments

Alright… In case you missed the last “When Signs Go Bad” blog, click here. Now, if you’re ready for round two…

 

Common mistake. We’ve seen several signs like this.

 

Hey.. If it works…

 

You can repair anything, huh?

 

These guys are really good at math!

 

…?

 

Woops… Didn’t think that one through, did we?

 

Again, which one, then?

 

Get the point?

 

And again, we wanted to leave on a high note!

 

Hope you enjoyed!

 

If you would like to report of an Ad Gone Bad, please contact us at info@transformationmarketing.com.

 

Note: We are a marketing firm, not a law firm. We are not aware of any copyright laws we may be violating by posting pictures of advertisements that are in the public domain to this blog. This site is just for fun. If you own the rights to any of the pictures or ads posted and feel that violated your copyright, please contact me and we will remove it. If you want us to fix your marketing mishap we can do that too.

When Superbowl Ads Go Bad

Posted on: February 6th, 2012 by Lacy No Comments

Now, before I even get started on this let me say one thing: Compared to what we usually post on the “When Ads Go Bad” blog series, were the ads during the Superbowl bad? NO! Not even close. However, when you get the chance to be advertised during the the most viewed ANYTHING of the year, we’re not talking regular advertising. You have GOT to stand out above and beyond the rest. Especially when you know it’s a time where many people watch just for the ads.

This year, those ads left much to be desired. As I said, they weren’t necessarily terrible, but most were forgettable at best. So, today, instead of picking on the bad ads like we normally do, we are going to commend the ads we thought were the most successful of the Superbowl. (We’d rather not give the mediocre ads any more publicity, because A) They’re not quite bad enough to make fun of, B) They’re not funny to begin with and C) We can’t remember half of them, anyway because they were boring.)

3rd Funniest Superbowl Commercial of 2012:

Doritos – Man’s Best Friend

 

2nd Funniest Superbowl Commercial of 2012:

Bud Lite – Here We Go

 

Funniest Superbowl Commercial of 2012:

M&M’s – Sexy and I Know It

 

Now, do all Superbowl Ads have to be funny? Not necessarily. But they do seem to be the ones we remember the longest. But, just to show that we’re not being bias, here’s one more “not funny” yet good ad from the 2012 Superbowl:

Budweiser – Prohibition

 

If you would like to report of an Ad Gone Bad, please contact us at info@transformationmarketing.com.

 

Note: We are a marketing firm, not a law firm. We are not aware of any copyright laws we may be violating by posting pictures of advertisements that are in the public domain to this blog. This site is just for fun. If you own the rights to any of the pictures or ads posted and feel that violated your copyright, please contact me and we will remove it. If you want us to fix your marketing mishap we can do that too.