There’s good advertising that makes you convinced you can’t live without the product or service. Then, there's excellent advertising that proves it’s a form of art, just like these mind-bending and clever billboard ads.
And then, you've got hilariously bad advertising. When you see one, you know it. Whether it’s product placing that has gone wrong, a slogan that sounds way off, or an overall design that gives people second and third thoughts, these are the ad fails worthy of the prize.
So let’s buckle up for a fun ride which is basically a masterclass on how not to “create and produce an ad,” as compiled in this list by Bored Panda. Take notes, kids, it’s about to get heavy.
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This Ad For Graduation Photography
I Pass This Billboard Everyday And Everyday I Think He’s A Vampire
There are so many ways an advertising campaign, a billboard, a print ad, and a commercial can go wrong. But one of the greatest faux pas is “false advertising.” The term refers to ads that use misleading, dishonest, and plain “false” assumptions in their content in order to promote or market products and services.
One should remember to respect the consumers who, as a result of the ad, may feel lied to and fooled. Such negative ads rapidly create a very bad image of a brand, and it can lead to various biases about it.
As a result, sales immediately suffer and it takes ages to gain back consumers’ trust in the brand. Thus, false advertising is one of the most dangerous mistakes you can make while advertising your product and it never, ever pays off.
This Ad Placement
This looks like my phone, everything I even think about something, out of nothing come all the advertising.
I Used To Be Able To See The Towel On Her Head
Another form of unethical advertising is ads that employ misrepresentation of a product or a service in a way that use a subliminal message to fit the brand's hidden agenda. These kinds of ads often use deception and manipulation to make consumers want their product or service and believe they can't live without it.
For example, Reebok launched an infamous “Cheat On Your Girlfriend, Not Your Workout” ad campaign back to 2012 and received immediate backlash. Initially, the ad was intended to motivate consumers, but in turn, it spread the wrong message and encouraged infidelity.
This Guy Must Be Feeling Pretty Great On This Ad
I Think She Should Go To The Hospital Instead Of Booking A Flight
The sportswear brand acknowledged the ad was offensive and pulled it, as many consumers were boycotting the brand. They wrote an open letter that stated: “This form of advertising shows a dishonest and disrespectful attitude towards women and your company should be ashamed to have even placed this ad in various places thinking it would be perceived in any other way.”
Moreover, the Federal Trade Commission deemed the campaign false advertising in its unsubstantiated claims about exercise benefits, and Reebok was made to pay a $25 million fine.
Math Is Hard. Don't Let It Get You Down
Well, Now That The Floors Are Clean
A Bag Of Apples With A Character On It That Got Poisoned By An Apple
Just wondering —does anyone know what language this is/ what country it’s in?
Another controversial ad example that made a tremendous negative impact on brand image was the series of ads by Protein World released 5 years ago in London Underground. One of its posters asking "Are you beach body ready?" caused public outrage and even sparked vigilante acts of vandalism.
There were 378 official complaints regarding the body-shaming campaign filed to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority. Moreover, a petition to have the ads removed was launched, and demonstrations followed.
How Did They Not See This?
Yeah, Very Flexible
"Join Hands" To Make Hospitals "Infection Free"
I’m Certain They Could Have Used A Better Slogan
Wow! What A Bargain
If You’re Going To Use The Dumbbell As An “I” Then You Don’t Need Another “I”
In 2017, Dove released an ad clip on Facebook for Dove body wash where a black woman was pictured removing her top and morphing into a white woman after she used the product. Such portrayal was not only horrendously racist, it promoted “whitewashing” and sparked a well-deserved outrage.
Coming from a powerhouse like Dove, which, according to their slogan, champions "real beauty," the ad seriously damaged the brand's reputation.
I Followed This Bus For 4 Blocks To Wait For It To Pull Over To Share This Beautiful Work Of Art
Finally, A Shower That Works With My Broken Neck
Mother-Daughter Bonding At Its Finest
The Implication That This Tooth Has Genitals
Sometimes The Answer Is In The Box Too
Do you really need to cheat by going outside the grid AFTER you took 6 turns to your opponent’s 3?
According to the Online Marketing Institute, “bad commercials often try for a quality that the good ones have, and fall short of the mark, or else lack it completely.” And one of the worst things you can do as a brand building an ad campaign is treating your customers like fools, which “means talking down to them and trivializing their values, beliefs, or experiences.”
Bread So Emo It Slices Itself
The Brazilian Vaccination Mascot Looks Like KKK
Even though it looks creepy you have to take into account that there is no KKK in Brazil and most Brazilians wouldn't think about KKK.
I'm from Germany, we don't have KKK and I still think it looks like it. I would guess it's known in a lot of places worldwide
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How is this a fail? It's Brazilian. America is not the centre of the universe, people.
and SUS means Sistema Único de Saúde = free health system! We don't have KKK.
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That's an American problem. I'm pretty sure in Brazil, it's just another costume. Americans show stop making their problems the rest of the world's problems
Unfortunately, it's part of a dark reality in the USA...i get what everyones saying...but still, i do not like this 👎
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Look people, I get the jokes. And we should be accepting of jokes spetially when they come our way. But just in case there are some commenting that are not joking, the kkk is NOT (thank god) a part of the popular culture in Brasil. We have our own racial problems (that is not one of them). The mascot, Zé Gotinha was supposed to get kids less scary of vaccination and the costume that that dude is wearing is poorly done (probably part of a poor people community), but IT IS NOT A REFERENCE TO THE KKK!
For those who are wondering: SUS means "Unified Health System", Unified Health System, is the Brazilian free health system (we have the private health system if you want something more comfortable and exclusive, but you can do everything for free ). And, no, KKK is not popular here, but many of us made the connection and laughed a lot about it. I mean ... what a big failure lol. Oh, the guy on the bus? Also in Brazil
The mascot is ugly, just it. We don't have KKK in Brazil, most people don't even know what it is. Hear "kkk" is used insteado of "LOL".
Vaccine. Some of them are in drops. That mascot is Mr. Drop
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It's a painless oral vaccine, probably against something like polio. Despite that piece of s**t Bolsonaro, Brasil is a country with a great vaccination system.
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As Brazilian I can tell that gotinha (droplet) is a mascot to make vaccine more appealing to kids, because you only receive a few drops instead of a needle. Obviously there are racists everywhere,but I can tell you, this post is the first time I ever thought he could look like KKK. The beauty of a child's innocent mind.
I'm American, and I didn't automatically think of the KKK. I thought the thing was scary AF, especially since he doesn't look anything like the illustration.
notice on the mascots chest is the word SUS? yeah no, not sus at all.
hi guys (Brazilian from Sp) his name is Zé Gotinha , which mean in English Joe drop he is mostly in the commercial's not always in the clinic ... I never saw one except on the commercials :/
The official mascot is cool, but this costume is horrendous! As a Brazilian, this mascot is really old (I'm 40 and I remember "Zé Gotinha" from my childhood) and it advocates for the child paralysis vaccine, which is a drop. It started to be associated with all vaccines overtime, and it's used on most campaings (Vaccines in childhood are mandatory in Brazil, thank goodness!). As I said, the mascot itself isn't associated with KKK, only these creepy costumes, like this person's.
why are they squeezing that poor girl's face so hard? and why would you put that in your ad??
What are they doing to that poor child in the first picture? Giving her Botox????!!!!
Sus just means suspect/suspicious. If someone is calling you sus it means they are calling you shady, fake, or false. Just overly popular at the moment as you can see from the many people using it despite numerous others already having said the same thing.
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I'm laughing about how it says "sus" on the front of the character ... indeed ...
It stands for Sistema Único de Saúde (somethinl like United Health System).
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Yes . It stands for SISTEMA ÚNICO DE SAÚDE (Universal health service).
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Yes . It stands for SISTEMA UNICO DE SAÚDE (Universal health service)
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Even the mascot looks creepy you need to know there's no KKK in Brazil.
reply to see it tho fnvenfkvjnfvhjfnvhdfvnvsbfdbhucccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccce
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He still would look like a big sperm even if KKK wasn't a thing to consider..... wouldn't this be better for birth control advertising? Hahaha
Sì ma è comunque inquietante soprattutto per dei bimbi, stampateci sopra un sorriso e le sopracciglia ed un logo colorato sulla tuta!
Here in Brazil a series of k is used as a laugh (like hahahaha). Eventually we laugh a 'kkk'
Oh wow..maybe scare the sh*" out of the kids w that so they don't notice the shot.
It's a Droplet, because little kids get droplets instead of injections. And this is a bad costume, he is very cute and friendly. I am Brazilian.
Keep in mind the conspiracy theory that the vaccine is Bill Gates' way to reduce the population of third-worlders.
Actually, I'm thinking more Michael Myers than idiots 8n bedsheets... I mean, KKK idiots are obviously ignorant asshats, but this guy is actually scary. Wonder how many kids start crying when they see him?
That...does NOT look like medicine...I know that, and YOU know that.
Actually Brazilians use KKK in text messages as we use LOL... it has to do with the sound of the letters, K in Brazilian sounds Ka, so KaKaKa.. Luke laughing. And they don't know the history behind KKK.
And that thing is supposed to comfort a child...how exactly? I would have been terrified of that thing!
Mah and Luiza NP, I am so sorry, I wrote this comment before reading yours, and now I realize how insensitive my comment was. Sorry 😞
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Sweet Jesus...don't let #45 see this...he'll be telling everyone Brazilians really, REALLY love him.😳✌
Has anyone else noticed that the digital image of the mascot has "sus" on his abdomen?? Seems a little sus... Lol
OMG the logo on the picture on the bottom right hand corner… ‘SUS’
Are they vaccinating that child in the eye or putting on face paint?
I just want to know what he is supposed to be (and also what they're doing to the kid in the top photo). As a kid, I would be terrified to have this... thing in the room with me. This looks like a better mascot for a fertility clinic.
That doesn't look like a vaccination,look like she's to get in mouth?
even the mascot is "sus"...get it!!!- like there's sus on the- oh nevermind
Just a non scary human in all white... he forgot the blue logo though
I on the other hand see a various & taller version of Pop N Fresh.
omg I remember that! I'm from Brazil but live in the US and I used to think it was creepy when I was little and went to get vaccinated... but I didn't even know what the kkk was though. It's just a weird mascot in general and an even worse costume for it.
Yeah, his name is Zé Gotinha, which would be something like "Little Drop Joe"
Regardless of knowledge of KKK, I would say that is scary, and the boy looks as if he's being tortured. The final pic of the mascot is the only one that looks OK, (except that it says 'SUS!')
I Only Saw The Left Window At First And Got Very Confused
Let God Arse
took me a minute to figure out the sword is meant to be an 'I' and it's Thursday, not even a Monday #PrayForMe
It Almost Seems Intentional
In reality, consumers are humans and a good ad needs a human touch to it to be convincing, appealing, and interesting. Sometimes, though, brands decide to take a shortcut into consumers' hearts by manipulating their feelings, which in turn results in lazy, tone-deaf, and appalling advertising disasters.
Fantastic Ad Placement
We Cut Kids
The Quotation Marks On This Sign Gives It A Malevolent Undertone
This Guy's Frog Legs Featured In An Ad
Creating a good ad is somewhat of a form of art, and although mistakes happen even to the best of us, some are forgivable, and others, not so much. In the end, the sales and brand perception tell it all.
Saw This Ad For A Shirt That’s Supposed To Say Saturday
"Hide The Pain Harold" Becomes Face Of French Coronavirus "Thank You, Heroes" Campaign
This Woman Turning Into A Fish Roll
Finally A Realistic Mannequins In Women's Lingerie Store
This Monstrosity
Found This In An Ad Today
Then Why Should I Buy One?
Hard Hats Are For Safety
This Colon Cleanse Ad Is So Bad It's Hilarious
This Ebay Advertisement For A Sleep Mask Photo Shopped Out Her Nose And Left One Nostril
This Really Odd Advertisement For Transit Around My City (Where Did The Bus Driver Come From?)
Seriously?
Yes, The Earth
That’s A Pokemon In The Bag
This Library Poster
Looking at these ads, i'm sure they're smoking something. Maybe a clichee but a true one. 😂😂
Ah Yes, China, My Favorite Food
Actually, On Second Thought, I’m Not So Hungry
Enjoy A Nice Massage In A Moving Car With Your Eyes Closed
Probably It's More Convenient This Way
Why Would Red Block When He Could Win?
Me And My Clones On The Job
Note: this post originally had 87 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
My stomach hurts from trying NOT to laugh as much!
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Boredpanda comment section seems to be getting a little poisonous. Not everyone is good at english, and some people make mistakes. But people just rush to that particular post's comment section and explode about how the OP were shitty people. Bro, you came here to chill, so just do that. Don't show off your righteousness here.
"In 2017, Dove released an ad clip on Facebook for Dove body wash where a black woman was pictured removing her top and morphing into a white woman" um no. do your homework. that ad showed different women with each shirt pull. stop making s**t racist that absolutely isnt.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/south-dakota-s-meth-we-re-it-campaign-funny-state-n1086071 An official state sponsored campaign in South Dakota.
This was excellent! I came here looking for material for a student and ended up getting a good laugh. Well put together and well captioned!
Some if them really make u wonder. Cluelessness or extremely dark humor?
Seriously have tears running down my face 😂 Haven't laughed this hard in a long time
These could be worse, at least they're not insulting . . . just dumb. I am old enough to remember some really horrible advertisements... men spanking their wives for buying the wrong coffee...the "my wife, I think I'll keep her" campaign for Geritol and the whole "happy women in pearls and heels dancing while scrubbing toilets" thing they did back then.
My stomach hurts from trying NOT to laugh as much!
Load More Replies... Boredpanda comment section seems to be getting a little poisonous. Not everyone is good at english, and some people make mistakes. But people just rush to that particular post's comment section and explode about how the OP were shitty people. Bro, you came here to chill, so just do that. Don't show off your righteousness here.
"In 2017, Dove released an ad clip on Facebook for Dove body wash where a black woman was pictured removing her top and morphing into a white woman" um no. do your homework. that ad showed different women with each shirt pull. stop making s**t racist that absolutely isnt.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/south-dakota-s-meth-we-re-it-campaign-funny-state-n1086071 An official state sponsored campaign in South Dakota.
This was excellent! I came here looking for material for a student and ended up getting a good laugh. Well put together and well captioned!
Some if them really make u wonder. Cluelessness or extremely dark humor?
Seriously have tears running down my face 😂 Haven't laughed this hard in a long time
These could be worse, at least they're not insulting . . . just dumb. I am old enough to remember some really horrible advertisements... men spanking their wives for buying the wrong coffee...the "my wife, I think I'll keep her" campaign for Geritol and the whole "happy women in pearls and heels dancing while scrubbing toilets" thing they did back then.
