Last year, the MC team let me have a run at our lovely blog to talk about how sometimes, despite the best intentions of the teams behind campaigns, ads fall flat on their faces. Sometimes they are irrelevant, sometimes they just fizzle off, and sometimes they fail so spectacularly, you can’t help but wonder what they heck the person who approved the ad was on. Luckily for us, the latter are very fun to talk about. Back for 2017, it’s more Marketing Fails and What They Can Teach Us.
Here are 4 ads that will make you cringe harder than that time I chewed on a frozen lemon while simultaneously running all of my fingernails down a chalkboard.
1. Chevy Totally Like, Just Gets Millennials, Man. They’re Totally One of Us, Bro.
If you haven’t watched any TV or streaming video with ads this year, you’re probably not even reading this, and if you are, you probably won’t get any of my jokes or references. But if you have watched those things, you probably have seen at least one of Chevy’s ads in their “Real People, Not Actors” campaign. A series of videos that feature “real people” reacting in focus group settings to Chevy’s offering of new cars, with all of their smart features and high gloss glory. As a quick disclaimer, I hate every single one of these ads. They all feel forced, and the reactions don’t seem like reactions real human beings would have to real world situations. And they might not be, but more on that in a minute. In particular, the video titled “Stereotypes” stands out to me as especially egregious, pandering to everyone’s favorite made-up marketing demographic—the illusive Millennial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUhvhCRN3cE&feature=youtu.be
The lines these “real people” expel out into the ether sound just a bit too good to not have been fed to them or coached to them ahead of time. Also, the dialogue exchanged between these people makes me want to believe that our generation is somehow categorically connected by something more than being born in the 90s, just so I can say how much I hate Millennials. But perhaps worse than any of what I’ve mentioned so far, it’s been revealed that a number of the individuals featured ARE INDEED ACTORS. GM’s justification? They haven’t received SAG cards. Sad trombone noise.
Lessons learned:
- Say it with me: Millennials. Are. A. Diverse. Group. Of. Individuals.
- Just because it isn’t technically a lie, doesn’t mean you’re not a liar.
2. DB Airbnb
Depending on how comfortable you are with sleeping in a stranger’s bed, you either love or hate the idea of Airbnb, a service that connects travelers to people with spare rooms/empty apartments/uncomfortable couches for rent. It’s cheaper than a hotel and can give more a “local” experience. I’ve used Airbnb, and I’m a fan of the service. That’s why, when I saw the ads Airbnb ran in the San Francisco area in 2015, I was disappointed that I had thus far been such a champion for the brand. For context, the city of San Francisco was trying to pass regulations that would levy some hefty regulations against short term rentals, thus doing some major damage to Airbnb’s business in the city. To try to strike up some support to vote down the regulations that would limit their business, Airbnb placed ads around the city to suggest what the city should do with their tax revenue. The intent, I assume, was to show how much their taxes contribute to the welfare of the city, and how limiting their business would limit that contribution. However, it certainly didn’t come across that way:
Take that, schools and libraries. San Franciscans, as you can imagine, absolutely hated these passive aggressive humble brag ads, and they were pulled very quickly.
Lessons learned:
- Make sure your message is clear.
- Know your audience. Respect your audience. Don’t belittle your audience.
- Maybe don’t tell entire cities worth of people that they should be thankful for your benevolent corporation.
3. The Government Wouldn’t Want You to Have Too Much Self Esteem
Okay, this one’s not so much an ad, but dang U.S. State Department:
Hey man, you’re ugly everywhere, by everyone’s standards. No one could ever love you. Don’t buy stuff for them.
Lessons learned:
- Whoever runs the State Department’s Twitter can throw some shade.
- There are multiple ways to convey your message, and some of them don’t involve insulting taxpayers.
4. I don’t Belieb the Audacity of this Ad.
A nigh-unrecognizable Justin Bieber, playing a “Celebration Expert” who barely emotes for the entirety of the commercial. Two football giant cameos that don’t capitalize on the talent leveraged. The cost of this one minute big game spot had to have been astronomical, seeing as space alone was going for $5 million/30 second slot. However, none of it comes together masterfully, and instead of what could have been a neat idea, we got this boring mess:
Lessons learned:
- Exciting music won’t make up for an unenthusiastic read.
- Make sure to fully utilize the talent you’ve recruited.
- TO still has the moves.
On the Flip Side
I do an awful lot of trash talking on this blog, because there’s a lot of bad advertising out there. But there’s also a ton of great, engaging, fun content too. Moving forward, each blog will close with a new section – On the Flip Side – where I’ll talk about one current ad or campaign that I LOVE. For me right now, this is, of all things, a Bud Light ad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxL7BT7UDrY
Now, let me start off by saying this: I don’t like Bud Light and I don’t drink Bud Light. But I love this spot. Particularly relevant for me as a young man just four months away from his wedding, this ad takes the relationship between two male friends in segments and pieces them together for the best man speech given at one’s wedding. It plays off of the trope that male friendships aren’t heavy on “feelings,” but turns that on its head. The quick cuts are engaging, and hearing the best man’s speech play out in 9 or 10 different scenes in less than a minute keeps you tuned in tightly. Because each of the scenes is so drastically different, the replay value of the ad is high. You’re always going to pick out something new. Beyond that, the media strategy behind it is working. This ad follows me everywhere I go on the internet. It’s a fun, unique spot that executes well and reaches its intended audience. Kudos to Wieden + Kennedy New York for pulling this together.
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So there you go! I hope you enjoyed this blog, and look forward to bringing you more content throughout the year. Until next time, relish in all the bad ads you see, and be happy that you didn’t make them.
About the author:
Bryan Aungst is the Account Director at Martin Communications. He is a 7 in America and everywhere else in the world, despite what that kind stranger in the prison jumpsuit he met at a bar in Germany would have him believe.
BONUS:
Buttery. Flaky. Crust. Come on Dan.