Anyone who champions an ad campaign that features: a talking hamster voiced by Andrew Dice Clay; a French-speaking Girl Scout; a jerky, lanky goth named Gord-on; and the sadly wasted comedic talents of Judy Greer — and then tries to introduce the term “framily” into the lexicon — does not deserve to be a top executive at a major wireless provider. Which is why Sprint is already planning to say goodbye to its Chief Marketing Officer after less than one year on the job. [More]
badvertising
Internet Enjoyed A Couple Of Glorious Ad-Free Hours After Google Outage
By 11.12.14
For a few hours this morning, you might have noticed that some of your favorite sites were serving up fewer ads — or in some cases no ads at all. No, it’s not because you’re special (though you are, honestly) or because these sites decided to give you a break from slamming your senses with advertising; it was all due to an outage of Google’s ad server. [More]
Turkish Hair Removal Company “Didn’t Know” Guy In Its Ad Is Former Al-Qaeda Leader
By 11.6.14
Not everythigng on the Internet is a case of “what you see is what you get.” Because while yes, a Turkey-based company did, in fact, feature a photo of a rather hirsute man in its ad for hair removal products, it says it “didn’t know” that the fellow is a former Al-Qaeda leader and accused terrorist. [More]
McDonald’s Trademarks Slogans That Are Even Worse Than “Lovin’ Beats Hatin'”
By 11.3.14
Late last week it was reported that McDonald’s would launch a marketing campaign in January with the phrase “Lovin’ Beats Hatin'” at its center, but the reality of what the burger behemoth actually trademarked makes those three words sound almost authentic by comparison. [More]
Who Has It Worse: Victims Of This Scary “Living” Poster, Or The Guy Stuck Inside?
By 10.30.14
If you want a viral advertising gimmick, there are few more reliable methods than just scaring the fecal matter out of innocent people. But after looking at this video about one amusement park’s terrifying “living” poster, we’re not sure if we feel worse for the people who soil their jeans from fright or the poor guy who is stuck inside the poster all day. [More]
UK Artist Creates Payday Loan Store For Kids
By 10.30.14
At first glance, the bright blue London storefront with a hand-painted technicolor scene of a cartoon cityscape in the window — complete with a smiling yellow mascot — looks like some sort of kid’s toy store or maybe a daycare center. That is, until you see the sign that reads, “Payday Loans 4 Kids.” [More]
McDonald’s Mistakenly Thinks Internet Won’t Mock “Lovin’ Beats Hatin'” Slogan
By 10.28.14
McDonalds’ — the company that is actively advertising the fact that some consumers believe there might be horse meat in its burgers — has a good idea for how it could be the target of additional mockery, with a plan to actually use the apostophe-abusin’ slogan “Lovin’ Beats Hatin'” in an upcoming campaign. [More]
YouTube Planning To Let You Pay To Avoid Ads
By 10.28.14
Sick of sitting through ads on YouTube just to watch a few seconds of a video clip? The Google-owned service is reportedly readying a version that lets users avoid all the advertising if they’re willing to pay for the convenience. [More]
Dear McDonald’s: If People Are Asking “What’s In Your Burger?” You’ve Already Lost
By 10.24.14
Unless you’ve completely managed to avoid live TV in the last week, you’ve probably seen the McDonald’s ad with footage from its public “question box,” where regular consumers ask the fast food company embarrassing questions. McDonald’s intends to use these ads as a platform for bringing the truth to the masses, but what it completely overlooks is that the real problem is the fact that people are asking these questions to begin with. [More]
Bayer Sued Over Allegedly Misleading Marketing Of One-A-Day Vitamins
By 10.15.14
The marketing for Bayer’s One A Day brand of multivitamins makes some very specific claims about what these products can do to improve a user’s health. But a new lawsuit brought against the over-the-counter drug giant argues that Bayer’s statements aren’t always backed up by the science necessary to make those claims. [More]
Beats Headphones Join iPads On List Of Products Banned From NFL Sidelines
By 10.6.14
While NFL stars like Colin Kaepernick might love the Beats by Dre headphones they get paid to wear, they won’t be allowed to sport the fashionable headgear on the sidelines of their games, or even around their necks during post-game interviews, thanks to an exclusivity deal reached between the league and Bose. [More]
No, Carlton From “Fresh Prince Of Bel Air” Did Not Endorse This Diet Supplement
By 10.3.14
We recently told you about the lawsuit filed by a weight-loss supplement company against an online complaints forum, claiming the website had illegally allowed customers to violate a non-disparagement clause by posting negative reviews. Now that supplement company is taking some heat for posting a supposedly bogus endorsement from actor Alfonso Ribeiro (AKA, the guy who played Carlton on Fresh Prince of Bel Air). [More]
Subway: Watch It, Ladies, You Can’t Get Fat Before You Put On That Skimpy Halloween Costume
By 10.3.14
Looking at the array of costumes available to adult women these days, one might think that every profession requires a display of cleavage and enough visible skin to make one fervently hope for a 75-degree night in October in places where it is not 75 degrees in October. The funny thing is, not every gal wants to dress up like a sexy/sassy/foxy mechanic/dentist/ornithologist. Some of us just want to be ornithologists, okay? Seems someone forgot to tell Subway that before it made its new boneheaded Halloween ad. [More]
Coke Reverses 10 Years Of Sagging Sales By Slapping Names On Bottles
By 9.26.14
To quote Stephen Sondheim, you’ve gotta get a gimmick if you want to get ahead. Just ask the folks at Coca-Cola who managed to briefly reverse a decade-long trend of declining Coke sales simply by slapping various people’s names on their bottles and cans. [More]
You Could Buy 5 Tricked-Out Teslas For the Price Of One Sunday Night Football Ad
By 9.25.14
Are you thinking about advertising your business on prime-time network TV? It might be a good investment, but for the price of just a single ad on one show, you could treat yourself to a very expensive, maxed-out electric vehicle. [More]
Feds Warn Advertisers Against Trying To Hide The Truth
By 9.23.14
Most of us accept the fact that advertisers have to massage the truth to put their products in the best possible light. You’re likely to sell more widgets saying “The fastest widget on the market!” and doing your best to hide the disclosure that you really mean it’s the fastest widget you can buy at one particular market in rural Alberta. But some advertisers have apparently been getting too fine with their fine print and have been put on notice by federal regulators to just stop it already. [More]
Yelp Swears It Doesn’t Manipulate Reviews, Even Though It’s Allowed To
By 9.19.14
Earlier this month, a federal appeals court held that Yelp is free to shuffle positive and negative reviews around at will, and can even use that freedom as a way to urge businesses to advertise on the site. But even in light of this ruling, Yelp maintains that buying ads on the site does not determine which reviews show up for your business. [More]
Walmart Mexico Investigated Over Promotional Cockfight
By 9.18.14
Walmart’s Mexican operations are being investigating by authorities in the city of Boca del Rio, where customers complained a Walmart store hosted a cockfight to promote a soft drink company. The retailer says it’s the customer gripes are overblown and that, while there were indeed roosters pecking at each other, no actual cockfighting took place. [More]
