These marketing fails deserve a double facepalm
Back by popular demand we have rounded up the best of the worst marketing fails.
If you haven’t already, check out this past ‘epic marketing fail’ post for some entertainment. We also post a weekly marketing fail to our Facebook page every Monday to start your week off with a smile.
Today’s categories:
These marketers clearly did this on purpose. Pro: They got people talking about their ad. Con: They compared their product to “sheet.” So is it a fail? Or did they succeed in making this ad go viral?
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What do you think, marketing genius or marketing faux pas? Are these marketers going a little too far?
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So Susan Boyle’s Album Release Twitter HashTag was one big mistake…but hey, publicity is publicity, right?
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What is the spelling on the actual cake going to be?
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Loves me a free fee? Wait, what? I have to pay?
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Shameless Tricks? Well, Mr. Editor-in-Chief, you should be ashamed. Please make sure you look at BOTH sides of the fold before you approve the magazine for print.
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Of course I will climb down onto the track and step over the railing to launch my QR Code scanner. Let me get right on that… Death wish anyone?
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Laughing at you. Not with you.
Dear Editor-in-Chief, Please remember where you place an ad is just as important as the ad itself. Sincerely, Marketers everywhere
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This really makes you want to “treat him.”
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This call to action was so strong, someone took it to heart.
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Aan advertising executive clearing their desk
We’re putting the ball in your court. What exactly is wrong with this ad?
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We fire the marketing team. Please, remember your audience.
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Common Oprah. I had higher expectations coming from you.
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Hmmm. Not sure if this is an ad for a touchless faucet or…
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Word on the street is that this may be fake. But still.
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Sometimes it’s so obvious you can’t see what you’re doing wrong.
Every now and then, you need to look at some really bad marketing to know that you’re doing it right. Or just to laugh at the stupidity of advertisers and ad placement people (what are they called?).
So to follow up on our last “bad marketing” post – 13 Epic Marketing Fails – I’m going to expose a few classic faux pas as a warning to be extra careful when you put an ad out to the world.
Today’s categories:
Enjoy, cringe, laugh, cry.
Before you pay through the nose for your ad placement, consider what’s coming next.
Ummmm. I get that it’s probably for people buying on behalf of those without sight, but the irony is somewhat ridiculous. I guess with a screen reader it could work to an extent – but paying for an ad like that? Seems kinda wrong. And really? “Never seen before?” #ouch
Wow. Talk about co-marketing. These guys should go into business together. I’d love to be the dude that pastes these things on the billboards – he must have the funniest job in the world.
Come on now! A Search engine (Yahoo) ad placed right next to section 404 in a sports stadium. Is this meta genius or just something for us to laugh at? I’m laughing FTR. But kudos to Yahoo if they specifically asked to be next to that section to try and generate some kind of viral brand exposure. #doubtful
Health food?… Yeah! Obesity?… No! McDonalds FTW!!! I mean really. Is the goal to confuse people? Or just cause arguments in minivans between parents and children.
I have to give them points for having an electronic banner with a live Twitter stream. And congratulate the photo taker for their epic timing. Doesn’t look so good for those 3 news anchors tho.
Surely you could rearrange this and it would still make sense, right? Must be a generation gap thing.
Okay, so you accidentally have a bad acronym for your business. Don’t make it worse! Although it’s probably a very effective interruption marketing technique, whether intended or not.
How could you not catch this one? I’m starting to think there’s a movement of inappropriate interruption ad companies that rely on creating controversy. #conspiracytheory
Really? You are so old you don’t know what this means? My version: Memories I‘d Like to Forget.
Looking to buy a car? Keep your eyes peeled for the women’s prison, we set up shop right beside it to enhance our trust value.
I heard someone say recently that branding and the name of your product doesn’t matter, just get it out there and see how it goes. I disagree, and this demonstrates it perfectly. How much education do you need to know that these are BANANAS!
Words #fail me…
I’m guessing the banner designer for this promotion got fired.
There’s only so much real estate on your packaging or landing page. Make the most of it without pointless references to things people already know. For cats? No sh*t Sherlock.
The world is broken…
If you’re guilty of doing or discussing any of these, you need a time out. Maybe go stand in a corner and reconsider your life.
Ever had an argument about infographics, and whether they’re only valid if they have stats and percentages? ZOMG, find a better use of your time. Information + graphics = infographic. Get over it already, hipster.
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If something is FREE, why am I filling out a form about “my biggest marketing challenge” for this freebie? My biggest marketing challenge is your form.
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If you have 5 paragraphs of text and no images, you’re either really dull or you like to appeal to dull people. Stop it. Stop it now. The world hates you.
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Ever shared a post about marketing that actually bored the crap out of you? Why? What’s wrong with you. #facepalm. There’s enough s**t out there already, so keep your Twitter trigger finger under control for the good stuff. #please
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Are you happy with 9 Retweets? You shouldn’t be. Learn how to write gooder or get a bar job in a ski resort.
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What’s the difference between a great marketer and a crappy marketer? If you can’t answer this question you should seriously consider that bar job I just mentioned. To really understand if you have the ability to be awesome, write some guest posts and see how other audiences react to your ideas. Best recommendation? Start at SEOmoz. The community is awesome, good and bad. They’ll quickly tell you what they think. If they think you’re an idiot, learn from it and come back stronger.
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A marketer walks into a bar and asks “What’s the most popular drink here?” (demographic research, in case you were wondering). Bartender says: “I have no idea. If you can generate a report on what the best selling beer is in here, I’ll give you $1,000″. Point being, as a marketer, you should always be measuring your campaigns, and your client will expect the same. Told you it was bad. Didn’t even make me laugh, and I laugh at myself all the time. #truestory
I used to be a marketer. Then I became a writer and my marketing got better. Lesson: the copy matters, and if you suck at writing, you’ll probably be a crappy marketer.
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How many marketers does it take to change a light bulb? Well first, you need 2 bulbs, to test which one is brighter, then you need an engineer to turn them on for you, then you have to ask IT for a report. Me? Personally, I’d rather go live in a cave and light a candle.
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I LOVE people who write posts about social proof, and have zero retweets. Makes me feel smart, cos their content sucks.
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So how many are you guilty of? Share in the comments and let’s have a laugh at what we’re doing wrong. If you share, so will I, that’s a promise.
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Well let’s find out. And please feel free to tweet these choice nuggets of wisdom… Otherwise you’ll be in trouble with Chuck #NotAGoodIdea
If you liked these ones, you might like the 9 Reasons Chuck Norris Shouldn’t Work in Marketing too.
Friday’s should be 50% work, 20% fun and 30% chuckle pills…
With that in mind, here are some blogs and blog posts, old and new, that will hopefully make you laugh while you slurp back a cold beer. P.s. I’m pretty sure Anna Sawyer from Trada could just do regular funny videos to make my job much easier…
Logo's wait in line to be made bigger by Chuck Norris
Ok, for some light relief on a Friday, we’re rehashing the classic Chuck Norris Facts to see what would happen if Chuck Norris decided to become a marketing expert and critique your favorite landing page.
Advance warning, this won’t be pretty, but with a bit of luck it should make you laugh.
Here are the top 9 reasons why Mr. Norris should never be allowed near a whiteboard:
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If you can do all of these, you’re officially Oli’s hero. Add up how many you’ve done and share in the comments. Whoever has the highest score gets a free hug!
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You'd be happy too if you were a yellow cartoon ball with a smile to rival Julia Roberts. (Images from Ladybird Books)
Landing pages, conversion rate optimization, bounce rate, blah, blah, blah, blah, yada yada yada.
As important as all of those terms and concepts are, sometimes you need to step back a bit and look at things in a more playful manner.
I find metaphor can greatly aid the process of communication – although as you’ll infer from the title of this post – my examples can at times be a bit of a stretch. Hopefully, this bunch are clear enough to mean something.
And so, with no further posturing or technical jargon, I present to you – The MR. MEN Guide to Landing Pages, Conversion and Absurd Metaphor.
Think you’re a rockstar marketer? Let’s find out. Scan the list below and add up your total, multiply it by 2 and add a % at the end – that’s your rockstar score.
Everything that’s left is your marketing bucket list.
In no particular order (how lazy of me) …
Have you ever daydreamed about hopping into a souped up DeLorean to travel back in time? Of course you have, and not because you miss your old ripped jeans and Robbie Williams CD collection. No, you really want to go back so you can test out some of those weird decisions you made at crucial life decision points – whether or not to kiss Janie Hutchison at prom, deciding to sell your 1/3rd stake in Apple Computers for $2,300, how many kids to have…
Imagine if life had A/B testing. Imagine facing a tough choice between two paths and being able to do both! It would be a breeze to figure out which one leads to cool adventures and money and sex with Natalie Portman, and which to a NyQuil habit and a job selling generic Viagara over the internet.
