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Advertising is meant to grab attention—just not like this. From signs with unfortunate typos to digital screens frozen on the computer's Windows desktop, these blunders prove even the biggest brands can make a fool of themselves. Of course, not every failure comes from poor judgment or inexperience. Some are simply the result of bad luck. But when you're addressing the public, it's your responsibility to ensure that the message lands as intended. If it doesn’t... Well, that one's on you.
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#1
Your Business Does What?
WindySwede 5 months ago
Feels like they forgotten 'cl3ansing' in the title also? 😶
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#2
Whoever Edited This Advertisement Never Saw A Human Foot
Anthony Elmore 5 months ago
An easy fix. Just bite down on this wooden stick, because this is REALLY going to suck.
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Secret Squirrel 5 months ago
I don't think the chiropractor or chiropodist will be able to fix THAT problem
Bill Swallow 5 months ago
No, see, that's a picture of what your foot will look like *after* they work on it!
Dread Pirate Roberts 5 months ago
Walking barefoot on the kitchen would sound like a dog trotting around 😆
Thirteen experts from the Forbes Agency Council identify confusing and annoying content as the number one reason why advertising campaigns fail.
According to them, when messages feel scattered or dishonest, audiences quickly lose patience and trust.
Other major pitfalls include delivering campaigns in antagonistic environments that diminish user experience, attempting to exploit tragedies or political trends without careful thought, and relying on clickbait.
#3
Please Donate Your Bloob
OneWithRatsAndKefir 5 months ago
Maybe on purpose? It’s more memorable this way and the point still gets across.
WindySwede 5 months ago
PhotoshoB. Here the original. https://imgur.com/PL0ZOvo
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#4
At My Local Optometrist
Mary Peace 5 months ago
I got my foot sorted at the chiropodist, now for my eyes, if I can see the way into the optometrist.
Mary Peace 5 months ago
I thought it was a photograph with a metal piece down the middle!
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#5
Spotted In The UK
Jon 5 months ago
Presumably deliberate after three members of the Australian cricket team got caught cheating by using sandpaper on the ball.
Ace 5 months ago
Also helps if you know that PaddyPower is an online gambling provider, and that th match-fixing was part of a betting fraud.
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But internet ads have become especially irritating. It seems it's no longer possible to watch an online video or read an article without being interrupted every few seconds.
According to a survey from user-first media platform Picnic, in partnership with global public opinion company YouGov, two-thirds of people (70%) find digital advertising annoying and unpleasant, and 72% say that bad advertising experiences have negatively affected their perception of a brand.
#6
"Challenge Accepted"
Mary Peace 5 months ago
Apart from the advert being a temptation, why do they have to put glass in front of the poster? It should be plastic.
#7
Accepting Resume
#8
Maybe Not The Best Two Billboards Right Next To Each Other... Just Sayin
JL 5 months ago
He quit too. Of course it took getting lung cancer and having a lung and two ribs removed.
Der Kommissar 5 months ago
Making the movie The Conquerer near a nuclear test site didn't help. Many cast and crew on that set died from cancer.
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StretcherBearer 5 months ago
Ah, the Duke. Not many like him these days. And the world is better for it. Drunk racist POS. Good riddance.
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 5 months ago
Ah, Marion Morrison - the "man" who got so angry at Sasheen Littlefeather's Oscars speech that he had to be restrained from physically attacking her.
Onan Hag All 5 months ago
Felt his time would be better spent making heroic war movies than actually enlisting.
Load More Replies... #9
The Poster People Didn't Really Think This Through
Bill Mills 5 months ago
Bond needs a little cartoon word bubble over him showing "Sic semper tyrannis"
When the respondents were asked to identify the most annoying user experience, most of them said it was "too many ads" (28%) and "blocked screen content" (28%), followed by accidental clicks (18%), slow loading speeds (12%), unstable page content (7%), and other (7%).
#10
Win A Dream Holiday
Forrest Hobbs 5 months ago
That happened in 2012: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Concordia_disaster
Harry Gondalf 5 months ago
From the Albert Lea Tribune, May 14, 2013; full headline: "Boy Scouts To Accept Gay Boys." And a smaller headline for a different story, about 3 inches down the page: "In Through The Back Door."
Harry Gondalf 5 months ago
Reminds me of the sign in the foyer of the hospital's fertility clinic: "For birth control use rear entrance."
#11
I Stood There Pointing And Laughing Until I Realized There Were People Behind The Window
#12
Found This In A Local Ad Flyer, Can't Stop Laughing At It
Batwench 5 months ago
It’s a British tradition (could be other countries as well) but to shake a sweeps hand is considered lucky and good fortune will follow. This is just to mausplane why “available for weddings” is in the ad.
Panda-sized Potato 5 months ago
To explain, back in the old days, to clean chimneys, you had to climb into them to clean. Then chimneys started to get smaller. So they used children to do the jobs. That is also where to term "light a fire under them" came from. When it felt like the children weren't working fast enough, the adult would light a fire in the chimney to get the children to speed up the work.
Andrew Keir 4 months ago
I've been trying to forget D**k van D**e's fake Mockney accent for so many years ...
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Georgia Ireland 5 months ago
Chim chim cheerie, me like what me does and me likes what me sees!
#13
Whoever Designed This Flyer Had No Concept Of Before And After
ColdSteelRonin 5 months ago
Now that's a premium distressing service. Joking aside, I've been at new builds and remodels where people have left their new cabinets and wood furniture exposed to the weather and had workers intentionally mar them with tools and chains to get a distressed/aged appearance.
Other key findings from the survey include:
- 66% say annoying or intrusive ad experiences reduce their trust in the brand advertising;
- 71% agree that annoying or intrusive ad experiences make them less likely to purchase from that brand in the future;
- 86% of people agree that too many ads on a webpage makes them feel overwhelmed and more likely to ignore the adverts;
- 71% of people agree they’d have a more positive perspective of digital ads if they loaded quickly and didn’t force clicks or block content.
#14
That's A Lot Of Legs For Three Women
ColdSteelRonin 5 months ago (edited)
Cue ZZ Top; 🎶"She's got legs, She knows how to use them."🎶
#15
Poor Cat
Keith Evans 5 months ago (edited)
so what's wrong showing your pusie ... sorry couldn't help that one :)
Ozymandias73 5 months ago
She's indicating she has a "hot one" by wearing the oven mitts. (Had to keep it going)
Load More Replies... Bill Swallow 5 months ago
From "Are You Being Served?' - Mrs. Slocombe, the Early Years. And she is *unanimous* in that!
#16
I Bought A Billboard To Promote My Business And They Screwed Up The Formatting
Alex Kennedy 5 months ago
https://tenor.com/en-CA/view/britanick-i-get-that-reference-gif-25933454
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Katie White 5 months ago
At no point did they think of just calling the guy and making sure that that’s what he wanted? I don’t think billboards are cheap
#17
Ad For Chocolate Milk
Charlie Spring Heartstopper Fan (He/Him) 5 months ago
Hide The Pain Harold! The man, the legend.
Some industry insiders are trying to shake off the blame. "With regulations limiting first-party data and platforms promoting broad targeting, many advertisers are forced to rely on poor-quality, unverified third-party data sources," says Anil Malhotra, CMO & co-founder of Bango, a technology company that specializes in helping businesses monetize digital content and services.
"This leaves them taking a spray and pray approach in hopes of connecting with new audiences."
#18
"AI Will Take Over The World" My Youtube Home Ad
RamiRudolph 5 months ago
How looked at this and said "Yes. This is fine. Let's go with that."?
Anthony Elmore 5 months ago (edited)
Hear me out: Body horror, but the audience is lions.
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Maggie Fulton 5 months ago
Back in the day, we used to fear coldly logical and cruel AI overlords like SkyNet. Instead we’re getting completely bat guano crazy AI overlords.
TiNaBoNiNa 5 months ago
Remember that Sesame Street song, "One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just isn't the same!"
#19
The Rewards Of Hypnotherapy
Daria 5 months ago
i don't think i'd have acquired them without the help from my family, tbh :'D
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#20
Someone Took The “D” Of The Mountain Dew Sign
Noelle English 5 months ago (edited)
Yup! Honestly, couldn't even be more honest! Remember to drink water!!!!!
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Maggie Fulton 5 months ago
I can’t believe I used to like this when I was little. It’s concentrated sugar water.
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Noelle English 5 months ago
I'mma have to agree with this ad, Mountain Dew is gross. Never drank it, and I never will. Water, milk, coffee, and hot chocolate for the win, am I right, guys?????!!!
#21
Pole Sign "Ads"
Jrog 5 months ago
This happens when the Windows Media Player running on the cheap NUCs typically powering those billboard crashes
B 5 months ago
Wait, a MS product crashes and is unreliable? Say it ain't so!
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But Malhotra agrees there has to be a better way. "Advertising must get adventurous again—trialling new innovations and targeting methods for their ads. The rewards for advertisers—and the brands they work for—will pay dividends in the form of increased customer loyalty."
Once you're done scrolling through this list, you can continue learning about ad fails by firing up our previous publications 40 Epic Advertising Fails That Probably Should Have Gotten Someone Fired and 50 Hilarious Advertising Fails You Might Find Hard To Believe Were Actually Approved.
#22
Design Fail Or Design Win?
#23
Saw An Awesome Bus Advertisement For An Optometrist
#24
This Poster In A Mall. This Guy Is The Only True Fanboy
#25
Another Unattainable Body Portrayed In Advertising
Edda Kamphues 5 months ago
I'm actually not too unhappy about this one. I like being in one piece.
#26
To Make A Serious Ad Campaign. Harold Is There For You During The Crisis
TiNaBoNiNa 5 months ago
Cut and paste random medical provider images. "Here ya go, boss. Ad's finished."
Maggie Fulton 5 months ago
Could be intentional. At one job we ordered a box of file folders and the tab illustrated on the box was labeled Tyler Durden.
Load More Replies... Daniele Ribolla 5 months ago
with that mouth full of porcelain, and that tetanus smile, no one will miss him!!! he's a living meme to false smiling... the worst I've seen
#27
The Ad On This Bus
#28
I Live In Ghana. This Billboard Is On A Highway Near My House
Jesha 5 months ago
Y'all have Rotary Club there? Please note that I'd say this about any country because I guess I didn't see it as something multinational on account of only being exposed to it via bake sales and raffles and stuff.
Asmodeus Hare 5 months ago
We had one that was mildly threatening. It was on a highway reading "prepare to meet God."
Anthony Elmore 5 months ago
Yeah, we're not allowed to use that one in the US. Didn't have the intended consequences.
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#29
Get Divorced?
Vivian McBride 5 months ago
There's a county in California called "Yolo". I thought it was a tourist advertisement. Don't know if there's rock climbing there.
#30
She Might Want To Get A Second Opinion
Gavin Johnson 5 months ago
Her brain injury was indeed repaired, nowhere do they claim it was repaired correctly.
#31
Go Back To Marketing School, Lexus
Quinn Goforth 5 months ago
Maybe they skipped buying coffee for a year, as the kids say these days
#32
It Looks Like Pete Davidson And Steve Buscemi Had A Baby
#33
The Real Estate Agent Is Always Watching
Blackmoon The Dragon 5 months ago
I read this in the nasally accent too haha
Load More Replies... #34
"I Put Up The Ad Boss"
#35
A Costly But Funny Mistake
Auntriarch 5 months ago
Multa! We need a little talk with UKgrandad... He needs reeducation on the subject of borzois
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Jaya 5 months ago
Probably costs too much time to do that, which costs money. So the company probably only checks whether the print looks alright, and if a customer sent the wrong picture then they probably consider that to be the customer's problem.
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#36
This Billboard Having A System Reboot
#37
How Bad Is It To Work At Homedepot
#38
Saw This Will On Vacation In Lima. I Guess Transport Companies Don’t Learn
#39
It Says "The Same Text But In Arabic"
Bruce Mardle 5 months ago
Similar to a famous road sign in Wales. Someone sent the name of a road to be translated into Welsh. They got a reply in Welsh and had that put on a sign. It actually said something like "I'm currently on holiday".
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 5 months ago
"Nid wyf yn y swyddfa ar hyn o bryd..." I'm not in the office at the moment. That was the start of the reply. The rest of it was about sending on any work to be translated, but my Welsh isn't good enough to work out what that is.
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#40
If It Doesnt Fit, Cut It
#41
Electronic Billboard This Morning Gave The Creepiest "Before" Pic I've Seen In A While
#42
Choose Asia. Choose Wrong. Spotted In Finland
LillieMean 5 months ago
Finns seem to like puns. Finland is full of places and restaurants with funny or ambiguous names. Even company slogans are more memorable when they have something strange or a little naughty in them. These kind of things sink into us like a hot knife into butter.
Phil 5 months ago
Thai folks do too. There's a restaurant near me called Pho King.
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RamiRudolph 5 months ago
Why would you call your restaurant chain that? Reminds me of a Turkish pizza chain here in my country that's called Okay Pizza. "Hey, you wanna go for a delicious pizza? No, I'm actually in the mood for an Okay Pizza." Doesn't sound right.
#43
Nair Commercial, Lady Is Squeezing It Out But The Lid Is Still On
#44
This Digital Billboard That’s In Troubleshooting Mode
Mária Dancsó 4 months ago
Clever people may take out the information they need, just jump over the letters you don't need ... .... :)
#45
Left: How It Should Be Right: How They Did It
Edda Kamphues 5 months ago
Yes, darling, you have rights. One is not having your head cut in half.
#46
This Billboard With A Backwards Thumb Has Been Haunting Me For Months On My Daily Commute
Edda Kamphues 5 months ago
Maybe they can get together with the podiatrist from a few posts earlier and open a business correctly reattaching body parts.
WindySwede 5 months ago
And if real, just her left hand? To show of the ring?
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OneHappyPuppy 5 months ago
I get it, it's a divorce attorney! "Where the story of You (plural!) becomes Two (divorced)", and the hand is from the sidechick
#47
Where Is That Chocolate Coming From?
#48
Apostrophe Placement On This Yoga Ad, Intentional Or Not?
#49
Made Myself Giggle At This One
Drop Bear from Hell 5 months ago
EM's kid X Æ A-Xii or his other kid Techno Mechanicus or his other kid Exa Dark Sideræl
#50
When You Can’t Afford The Full Billboard
Forrest Hobbs 5 months ago
Tattoo removal firm in Ashton-under-Lyne. If you don't know where that is - well, never mind, eh? 😁 https://www.bizseek.co.uk/go-go-ink-tattoo-removal-specialist-0161-343-7572
#51
Billboard Showing The Wrong Person For The Documentary Being Advertised. She Does Look A Bit Like Him
Fat Harry (Oi / You) 5 months ago
Liz Truss before she went completely mental and destroyed the UK economy. Actually, that's totally unfair - she's always been completely mental.
General Anaesthesia 5 months ago
Is there some weird chemical in conservative water? Globally?
Load More Replies... #52
Saw This Sign By A Church I Was Passing
General Anaesthesia 5 months ago
"To cross someone" generally means to go against their wishes, defy them, or make things difficult for them. It can also imply angering someone or acting in a way that is displeasing to them."
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#54
Ironic Marketing
Bruce Mardle 5 months ago
"Hello? Is that Audi? I saw your advert and want to buy a Mercedes van."
#57
Star Wars Poster At An Indian Theatre
#58
No One Listened To Giofilms
highwaycrossingfrog 3 months ago
A YouTuber who reads out popular Reddit posts from subs like r/crappydesigns
Load More Replies... #59
This Is On A Window In London. It's Supposed To Promote Some Weight Loss/Diet Thing The Image Of The Woman Was Just Stretched In Photoshop
#60
Our Marketing Is Not The Problem, Its That Our Target Customer's Necks Are Not Crooked Enough
#61
What Kind Of Advertising Is This?
#62
This Billboard In My Hometown Is Glitched Like This Since This Summer
#63
Standing Too Close To This Poster Ad
#64
NY Subway Adverts For The Northman Have Appeared... Without The Title
Bruce Mardle 5 months ago (edited)
I used to work for a reprographics company (writing software). One day I was walking through the building and did a double take. The owner and a graphic designer were staring at a design, for the box for a ham and pineapple pizza, on a screen, discussing whether they should tweak the midtones (or something equally technical). I told them they should probably get rid of the bit that said "suitable for vegetarians".
RamiRudolph 5 months ago
For a moment, I thought the tagline at the top read "Conquer Your Fat!" and thought it was an ad for a really rad diet program.
#66
His Face Seems A Bit Odd... Might Just Be Me Though
#67
The Infamous Digital Billboards Run Windows
#68
I Was Literally Going Out To Buy Chocolate Chip Cookies When I Saw This Abomination
#69
Saw This Today
Anthony Elmore 5 months ago
Good to see they're making their billboard faster and more secure with a quick and simple scan from CCleaner®
#70
I Thought This Guy From A Nike Ad Was Pointing A Gun At Me
#71
Giant Billboard On Las Vegas Strip Falls Victim To Blue Screen
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 5 months ago
The blue screen company seems to do a lot of advertising, are they a successful company?
RamiRudolph 5 months ago
I dunno, I heard they were very bad for your computer.
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#72
Pregnant Attorney's Ad, Not A Great Photo
#73
This Billboard Confuses Me
Forrest Hobbs 5 months ago
Confused me too - surely that couldn't be an old Birmingham phone number? Turns out it's NZ - Ray White's the firm, Jane Horgan's the person. https://rworakei.co.nz/team/
RamiRudolph 5 months ago
Are they siblings maybe? https://www.reddit.com/r/Bossfight/comments/9wrjws/ultima_morgan_dealer_of_the_law/
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Lynn Korbel 4 months ago
There is now an obnoxious ad on the left-hand side of the screen which covers part of both the photo and the text of your stories. PLEASE GET RID OF IT!!!! It can't possibly be worth all the viewers you will lose as a result of making a disaster of your newsletter!!!
Mary Peace 5 months ago (edited)
Great fun until I got to #50 " when you can't afford the full billboard"... .. .Continue reading with Bored Panda Prremium. -Sorry, finances won't allow.
Lynn Korbel 4 months ago
There is now an obnoxious ad on the left-hand side of the screen which covers part of both the photo and the text of your stories. PLEASE GET RID OF IT!!!! It can't possibly be worth all the viewers you will lose as a result of making a disaster of your newsletter!!!
Mary Peace 5 months ago (edited)
Great fun until I got to #50 " when you can't afford the full billboard"... .. .Continue reading with Bored Panda Prremium. -Sorry, finances won't allow.
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