The Most Shocking Advertising Campaigns!

Here are some of the most shocking advertising campaigns!
8 - Nivea - White is purity
In April 2017, NIVEA released one of the most controverial ads of the year. Their ad was
published on Facebook that was aimed towards the company’s Middle Eastern customers.
The ad was essentially promoting a new invisible deodorant; it showed the back of a woman’s
head with long dark hair, with the rest of her body wrapped in a white robe. Underneath,
the slogan stated, WHITE IS PURITY. The Facebook post was captioned with, “Keep it clean,
keep bright. Don’t let anything ruin it, along with the hashtag, Invisible.” The
ad was quickly the center of social media where social justice warriors quickly came
together to force the company to apologize.
Twitter was filled with people who were calling for Nivea to fire anyone in the marketing
department who approved the ad. Meanwhile, essentially groups that are associated with
the alt-right were unabashedly supportive on twitter with the new direction Nivea was
taking.
NIVEA promptly removed the ad from Facebook, and a spokesperson for the company formally
apologized for the post, stating that the image was inappropriate, the ad wasn’t reflective
of their values as a company. They also stated that Diversity and inclusivity were NIVEA’s
core values, taking pride in creating products that promoted beauty in all forms. Their other
ad for the “invisible” campaign that stated “Black stays black. White Stays White”
was still on the Nivea Middle East page. I mean, white’s obviously a color associated
with purity, and I don’t really think Nivea meant it the way people are taking it, but
then again, that’s just me! File this one under dumbest corporate mistakes!
7 - Heinz – QR disaster
In 2015, Heinz faced worldwide embarrassment when a German customer scanned a QR code on
the back of a bottle and was directed to a p*rn site. Daniel Korrel scanned the company’s
promotional QR code only to find out that the link had expired, and instead a porn site
had taken over the address. The code was of course, originally planned to redirect to
a promotional site of Heinz in Germany, but when the promotion expired, so did the link.
Whoops! He quickly reported the incident to the company’s Facebook page, stating that
their ketchup was probably not for minors.
The code was quickly redirected and no longer links to a very not-safe-for-work website.
A spokesperson for the brand arranged the delivery of another bottle to Korrel and issued
an apology for the outdated QR code and website link, which were initially planned as part
of a promotion to design a Ketchup label. Seriously, only one bottle? Thank goodness
for Heinz, not too many people were exposed to the mishap, because really, no one in their
right minds scans QR codes!
6 - Pepsi – Jump In!
Ahh Pepsi. Remember that whole debacle when they accidentally lit Michael Jackson’s
hair on fire?! Well, Pepsi had another one on their hands in 2017 when they released
their “Jump In” campaign, a new ad that basically tried to appeal to millennials and
the rise in social causes in US culture.
The campaign, starring Kendall Jenner, was obviously trying to show the company sympathizing
with the Black Lives Matter movement. However, social media wasn’t amused. The ad shows
Jenner modeling with a blonde wig on with dark lipstick. She sees a protest going on,
so she takes off her wig, wipes away her makeup, and changes into an all-denim outfit that
makes her “one of the people”. Immediately after joining the protestors, she spots a
wall of menacing police officers and, lo and behold, she hands a police officer a Pepsi
and he drinks it. The protesters all cheer in unison at their savior.
The social media uproar was almost immediate. Memes mocking the ad started filling twitter.
Basically, people were super pissed that Pepsi tried to use the Black lives matter movement
to move more soda.
Pepsi has since withdrawn the ad and apologized stating that they were trying to project a
global message of unity, peace and understanding. They also added they had clearly we missed
the mark. Before the ad was pulled, a spokesperson for Pepsi said that the upcoming campaign
was a global ad that reflected people from different walks of life coming together in
a spirit of harmony. Obviously Pepsi had the right intentions going in, but the wrong execution!
Chalk this one up to another hilariously dumb corporate mistake! C’mon, you gotta know
your intended audience is hypersensitive!
5 - Bloomingdale’s – Spike the eggnog
Bloomingdale’s controversial Christmas ad that was released in 2015 had people fuming
across social media. The ad showed a man looking at a woman laughing and looking away from
him, with a slogan stating, "Spike your best friend's eggnog when they're not looking.”
Many perceived the ad as predatory and “r*pey”. Obviously, a lot of people on twitter viewed
this ad as promoting r*pe culture, and this was a really dumb ad for Bloomingdale’s
to put out, because c’mon, people do spike people’s drink with drugs other than alcohol,
so the leap in logic really isn’t much there. Seriously, which sane and sober person would
approve this in the marketing department?!
Following the social backlash, Bloomingdale's issued an official apology, stating the copy
used in their advertising was inappropriate and in poor taste. Unfortunately, the ad was
already printed, so this one is can pretty much live on some hipster’s coffee table
forever.
4 - Airbnb – No new taxes
Just in case you don’t know, Airbnb is a 25 billion dollar company that aims to connect
people with spare housing to share with well, people who need housing. The company started
in San Francisco and has kept its headquarters there ever since. In 2015, San Francisco was
about to have a vote on Proposition F, a ballot measure that would have tightly regulated
short-term home rentals in the city, as well as essentially raise taxes on AirBNB.
San Francisco hadn't required Airbnb to pay taxes, which was basically because of the
required changes in legislation. Obviously Prop F was a measure that hotels in San Francisco
were hoping to pass, as AirBNB has grown to be a huge problem for them.
However, AirBNB decided to release some passive aggressive ads that didn’t quite go as intended.
The ads were seen on bus stops and billboards around the city, hinting that the company
was pretty unhappy about having to pay $12 million in hotel taxes.
Obviously, a lot of sensitive San Francisco residents’ weren´t amused. SF State University
professor Martha Kenney was one of the first to protest the ads, by using a Facebook post
to criticize the company's reluctance to pay taxes by stating that had the company donated
the 8 million dollars they had spent in legal battles on the public libraries they loved
so much, it could have made a bigger difference. To be honest, AirBNB shouldn’t have complained
about the taxes they would have had to pay…..because let’s face it. Everyone has to pay taxes,
and no one wants to hear a giant company whine about taxes. They really should have focused
their campaign on the restrictive legislation instead.
Airbnb took the ads down after the social media backlash and issued an official apology
stating that they intended to show the hotel tax contribution from their hosts and guests,
which was roughly a million per month at the time.
3 - LifeLock Identity Insurance
LifeLock Incorporated is an American identity theft protection company that used an “innovative”
ad campaign, so to speak. In order to prove the efficacy of their system, LifeLock promoted
itself by publicizing their CEO’s social security number. Ummmm, yeah, I guess you
can write off the scams on your taxes?
In 2007, the ads were seen everywhere in the US: park benches, billboards, TV and print.
CEO Todd Davis openly challenged hackers to use and steal his identity, being confident
in the fact they would never do it. The ads emphasized their guarantee: that LifeLock
would cover all losses and expenses up to $1 million in case your identity was stolen.
Davis was confident his company could pull this off. If there’s one thing I know from
watching enough movies about internet hackers, it’s that to never underestimate them, or
egg them on.
Davis’ identity was used to commit several frauds: a man in Texas used his Social Security
number to take out a $500 loan that ended up being handled by a collection agency. An
At&T wireless account was opened in Albany, Georgia under his name and used to charge
around 2300 USD.
After several lawsuits showed the inability of the company to follow through with its
promises of keeping identities safe, the CEO answered that this only proved his company’s
usefulness, as his own identity was stolen onnnnnnly 13 times. Yeah, that’s 13 times
I don’t want my identity to be stolen?
After a long legal battle, LifeLock was levied a 12 million dollar fine by the FTC for deceptive
business practices and for failing to secure sensitive customer data. Somehow, someway,
this company is still in business today!
2 - French Non-smokers right campaign
In 2010, the French Non-Smokers' Rights Association pretty much shocked the French nation with
its anti-smoking ads that pretty much showed teenagers in a pose suggesting let’s just
called it………oral delights?!
The campaign shows female and male teenagers with a cigarette in their mouths, while being
met face-first with a man’s crotch. I mean. C’mon. Let’s be for real. Does anyone
actually smoke cigarettes like this in real life?! The caption basically means that to
smoke is to be a slave to tobacco.
The campaign was devised to help halt the rise in smoking amongst 13 to 15-year-olds
that has been happening in France in recent years. The leader of the project for Non-smokers'
Rights, Marco de la Fuente, declared that the old argument of tobacco is bad for you
just didn't work anymore, and the campaign’s message was that tobacco was a form of submission.
They chose this specific metaphor because, according to the group, it’s the perfect
symbol of submission.
Critics from feminist and pro-family campaigns have stated that the campaign is offensive
and counter-intuitive. The French Secretary of State for Family Affairs, Nadine Morano,
termed the ads a public outrage to decency and vowed to ban the campaign. Following the
publishing of the ads, the Association of French Families filed an official complaint
with the national advertising regulators, accusing the campaign of violating ethics
rules. This association intended to shock people with their campaign, and they definitely
achieved that prime objective! H*ll, I might even be offended!! Okay just kidding, I’m
not…….
1 - Ford – Trunk Space
Ford motors released an ad in 2013 that showed three scantily-dressed young women gagged
and bound in the trunk of a Ford car. The disastrous ad triggered a general outcry after
it was released onto the internet, with women's rights groups criticizing the company for
insensitivity and outright misogynistic behavior.
Coincidentally enough, the ad emerged right after the Indian parliament passed a new anti-r*pe
law to impose tougher sentences, including the death penalty, for gang-r*pes and sexual
assaults. Obviously the controversial ad was trying to promote the large trunk space of
the car, with showing the 3 women tied up, while Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
proudly gives the viewer a peace sign while sitting in the front seat of the Figo.
After the social media uproar, Ford quickly ordered the ad to be pulled down, and issued
a formal apology stating they deeply regretted the incident and agreed with their Indian
partner that it should have never had happened, because it was contrary to the company’s
standards. I’m still trying to figure out how in h*ll anyone at ford’s marketing department
thought that this would have been okay especially with the prevalence of r*pes in India. This
could be the dumbest one I’ve seen yet!
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The Most Shocking Advertising Campaigns!

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