The most failed advertising companies. Five recent PR failures and how they could be “worked out Failed brand advertising campaigns

1. Water from the toilet - the failure of the company "Schweppes"

In modern society, we are accustomed to making certain demands on our drinking water. Most people want their water to be clean, clear, and in no way related to human waste. The latter caused Schweppes a lot of problems.

When soft drink maker Schweppes decided to enter the Italian market with a brilliant new advertising campaign, he clearly forgot to consult his pocket dictionaries. As it turns out, the two Italian words “tonic” (tonic) and “toilet” (toilet) are quite easy to confuse. Thus, when Schweppes introduced its product to the thirsty Italian people, it imprudently offered them a glass of toilet water. People, of course, politely refused. After this humiliation, Schweppes calculated its losses and moved on to new campaigns, albeit less nauseating ones.

2. The story of the faeces - the company "Clairol"

The world of beauty product advertising is pretty predictable. In every commercial, we always see unrealistically beautiful models posing and smiling at the camera, while annoying pop music plays loudly in the background. We have seen this many times. Maybe that's why the company "Clairol" decided to be more creative in creating an advertising campaign in Germany.

"Mist Stick" (eng. mist - "light mist, haze"; stick - "stick") - the so-called curling irons developed by the cosmetic company Clairol. They turned out to be quite a popular product wherever they were presented - except in Germany. You see, in German slang, the word "mist" means "feces" or "dung". As you can imagine, it was quite difficult to convince millions of women to curl their hair with excrement. The campaign was obviously doomed to failure.

3 Zombie Apocalypse - Pepsi

Advertising that presents the best benefits of products is as old as the world. We've all seen the commercial for the men's deodorant "Axe", which will turn you into a walking dream for any woman. These moments of truth are so banal that we tend to ignore them completely until someone claims to have raised the dead.

When Pepsi decided to sell its products to Asians, it resorted to a simple translation into Chinese of its then slogan - "Pepsi will bring you back to life" (English Pepsi brings you back to life). Serious errors were made in the translation of the phrase, as a result of which the Pepsi company promised the whole nation that "Pepsi will make your ancestors rise from the graves."

Most Western cultures would just laugh at this oversight, but the Chinese have too much respect for their dead ancestors, so an unsuccessful advertising campaign led to a sharp decrease in sales of Pepsi products in the Middle Kingdom.

4 Pens That Won't Fertilize You - Parker Pens

When buying a pen, you should ask yourself some important questions. Which pen will be the most efficient to use? Which pen suits my lifestyle? Which pen has the least chance of impregnating me? Don't worry! Parker Pens has the answers to all your questions.

When the brand decided to introduce its new "Quink" pen (which was itself a marketing gaffe) to Spanish customers, it made an embarrassing announcement. The company's slogan was "The Quink pen won't leak and embarrass you". The English word "embarrass" has been translated into Spanish as "embarazar". Everything seems to be correct at first glance, except that the Spanish word "embarazar" means "to impregnate someone." It so happened that the company "Parker Pens" assured their Spanish customers that their newest product "won't leak" and "won't fertilize" anyone. Perhaps this is not the best advertisement for pens.

5. Problems with the penis - the company "Ford"

Cars and penises have a long and complicated relationship. True or not, it is generally accepted that large or conspicuous vehicles serve as surrogate genitals for those who have been left out by nature. Therefore, it is not surprising that the "Ford Pinto" advertising campaign in Brazil turned out to be a failure.

The reason for this, as in the case of the "Mist Stick" curling iron, was local slang. The company "Ford", presumably, named its new car in honor of the breed of horses - pinto (English pinto). This word has a completely different meaning in Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken. As you probably already guessed, the word "pinto" means "penis". But if that were all, then Ford's reputation would not suffer much.

It turns out that "pinto" means a very small penis. Understandably, this ill-conceived marketing campaign failed miserably, because no Brazilian guy wanted to cut through the city at night in a car with the words "small penis" written on it.

6. A terrible mistake - the company "Ford"

Have you ever heard the old urban legends about the man who bought a classic car for an incredibly low price and later found out that someone had died in it? Most of us consider this a modern-day Aesop's fable, a warning to be wary of offers that are too tempting. The Ford company apparently interpreted the essence of the fable a little differently.

When creating an advertising campaign in Belgium, Ford thought it could boast of the high quality craftsmanship put into its vehicles. She decided that the use of the slogan "Every car has a high quality body" (eng. Every car has a high quality body), designed to emphasize the strength and reliability of the vehicles produced by her, would bring huge profits.

No matter how! It turned out that the Belgians were not interested in corpses as a distinguishing feature of their new cars. The fact is that Ford made a small mistake in translating its innocent slogan. She confused the word "body" with the word "corpse" (English corpse), accidentally promising a decomposing body in addition to each car.

7 Deadly Dilemma - Mercedes-Benz

Describing what will happen to you when you buy a car, manufacturers seem to be out of touch with reality. We expect that with the machine we will acquire sex, wealth and the secret of immortality. It was this marketing strategy that Mercedes-Benz resorted to when promoting its cars in the Chinese market.

Usually, when translating a name into Chinese, hieroglyphs are used that are similar in sound. When translating the name "Mercedes-Benz" into Chinese, the company also applied this method. Its second part, "Benz", was translated using the characters that formed the word "Bensi".

And everything would be fine if the word "Bensi" did not literally mean "rush to die." Few were interested in cars with that name. After the campaign failed, "Mercedes-Benz" changed the name to a more appropriate - "Benchi", or "to drive fast, like flying."

8. "Love" for chicken meat - the company "Perdue"

When Perdue, a poultry supplier, decided to expand its business in Mexico, it also messed up the translation. Billboards with the company's slogan "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken" certainly attracted attention, but for a different reason. When translating into Spanish, something got confused, and this phrase acquired a slightly different meaning. Motorists passing by were very surprised when they read on the billboard "It takes an excited man to make chicken tender."

9 The Failed Debut Of KFC

Even such a giant as "KFC" (an international chain of restaurants specializing in chicken dishes) is not immune to translation errors. It is now hugely popular in China, but what you don't know is that the company's big debut in the country was derailed by a terrible misunderstanding.

KFC first opened its doors to China in 1987. She immediately ran into difficulties translating into Chinese. The slogan of the company sounded like “You will lick your fingers” (eng. It’s finger-lickin’ good). After it was translated into Chinese, its meaning has changed a little. KFC promised its customers food so delicious they would bite off their own fingers.

10. Baby puree - Gerber

People are losing their minds when it comes to the safety of their children. This may explain why Gerber outraged, scared and repulsed its potential customers when it introduced its brand in Ethiopia.

All Gerber products have a logo with a child's face. Unfortunately, the literacy rate in Ethiopia at that time was very low, so all products in the country were marked with the corresponding images without accompanying inscriptions. When Gerber introduced their products to Ethiopia, it caused real concern among the locals, as they thought they were selling mashed baby meat in little glass jars with a baby's face on them.

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Are you looking for this? Perhaps this is what you could not find for so long?

Looking through the social pages of the largest companies in the world, it can be noted that they differ little from each other.

What is needed to attract the attention of the audience, to be interesting and attractive? Here are some examples of small and large PR campaigns that have a lot to learn from.

1 . Kraft Macaroni & Cheese's Jinx

In March 2011, Kraft Food, the world's second largest packaged food company, launched an interesting Twitter campaign. When 2 different Twitter users used the phrase "mac & cheese" in their post, Kraft sent them back a link pointing to "Mac & Jinx". The first person to click on this link received 5 free boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese and a T-shirt.

This is one of the inexpensive ways to track and reach potential fans on Twitter. It is only necessary to calculate 2 people who used the same word or phrase in their text message at the same time. In return, you will receive new “followers” ​​(subscribers), the favor of customers and the distribution of goods on social networks.

2. Ingo's face Logo

When Swedish advertising agencies Gray Stockholm and Ogilvy Stockholm merged in 2011, their main focus was to reach their fans through social media. The two organizations created a Facebook page and asked their fans to get involved in creating a new logo for the company. Each time new visitors entered the site, their profile photo automatically appeared in the logo. With each picture, the logo got bigger and eventually consisted of 2890 photos. The sign collected the required number of photos within 4 hours.

This is an example of another inexpensive way to engage users in a brand. Another alternative is to create a real mosaic of Facebook page friends and fans.

3. BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota's Human Doing

Who can best describe the routine life of an ordinary person in the way that he himself? Last year, the US health insurance federation called the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota (BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota) created a program in which Scott Jorgenson participated. A simple resident from Saint Paul was placed in America's glass mall for a month to demonstrate his improvement in fitness through exercise 3-5 times a day.

The main idea was that the exercises for each session were suggested by Twitter and Facebook users who followed the events through the media.

Creating an event that engages social media users is an alternative to launching an advertising campaign. Humanizing the problem for which your campaign provides a solution is also a good idea.

4. GranataPet's Foursquare-Enabled Billboard

GranataPet pet food has become world famous thanks to a well-designed billboard in Germany. The unusual billboard was equipped with a feeder from which you could get free dog food. The owner simply had to register on foursquare - a social network with a geotargeting function - and some of the advertised brand of food appeared in the feeder. More than 50,000 videos have been made by pet owners on the topic of original dog food ads and posted on YouTube.

In social media, creating a well-designed ad or billboard can help increase sales even with a minimal advertising budget.

5. Reinert Sausages's Wurst-Face App

Another German brand, Reinert Sausages, has come up with a completely new and different Facebook app for its customers and to attract new ones. Users were given the opportunity to get their faces on cold cuts by simply uploading their photo to the app.

An app that is social, fun, and brand-appropriate can function more effectively than any other high-budget campaign.

Based on Mashable, YouTube and other sources.

A negative public reaction to advertising can lead to the disruption of global marketing projects and the loss of consumer confidence in the brand. The editors of the site selected companies that were forced to stop broadcasting videos and ads after criticizing the media and Internet users.

subway

Especially for Halloween in 2014, the fast food chain released a commercial that convinces viewers that they still need to keep fit, despite the end of the beach season, to fit into holiday costumes.

The heroine of the video demonstrates several options for Halloween clothes - a "daring teacher", a "pretty nurse", a "hot devil" and a Viking princess.

After launching the ad, Time and Today newspapers called it sexist, provoked an active discussion of the video on the network, which forced the company to remove the video from YouTube and stop the campaign.

Esurance

In the spring of 2014, the insurance company Esurance had to remove its advertising from billboards in the United States due to the wrong typeface and spacing in the slogan: "Cover your home in a click" read from afar as "Cover your home in a dick."

Cadillac

During the opening of the Sochi Winter Olympics, which were broadcast in the US on NBC, Cadillac ran a TV ad featuring American actor Neil McDonough celebrating American values ​​of hard work and luxury living. In contrast, he mentions other countries, whose representatives, according to him, consider Americans crazy and prefer regularity and a good rest in August.

Recently, I often pay attention to unsuccessful advertising. This is my weird entertainment. But besides all the fun, this is a great pumping of your knowledge and understanding of what not to do.

And in this article I will show you examples of bad and, to some extent, very bad advertising. But all this with conclusions and recommendations on how to proceed. So let's laugh and learn.

Most of the mistakes are made by small companies that come up with various unusual moves in order to attract customers.

Of course, they attract customers, but, as a rule, in a bad way. If they are remembered, then as short-sighted companies that can not do anything worthwhile.

This move is dangerous, but in some cases it gives a result. This is from the category of opinions that bad advertising is also advertising. We will also consider such situations.

There are no bad ads!

In any case, the result will be, sorry only if it is tiny or indirect. But in some cases it is better not to have it than to have it.

Each example will have suggestions for improving the ad, but these are just examples to think about. The final version, with all the details worked out, will definitely be different.

Example 1

In life, there really is a phrase - "I'll go think on the toilet." And in terms of advertising, it is very good when we speak the language of the client (especially the word “push”).

But there are topics that are beyond. For all the stupidity of the ad above, it has its place, but should be wrapped in prettier packaging and a more aesthetic appeal from the “Toilets for Beauty and Thoughts” series…

Example 2

Moreover, it is very strange that the phrase does not harmonize well with the image. Advertising needs to be completely changed. If the emphasis is on the wife and family, then think in the direction of "A family table without sausage is an indicator of a man."

Example 3

What do you think is the target audience for this ad? Will men send their ladies to such a clinic? Or will women go to such a center? I am sure that in both cases there will be a failure and even the opposite effect.

The target audience is extremely unselected and advertising is made for the sake of advertising, not effect. The way to improve advertising is obvious - remove everything and make an offer “Guarantee for dental implants - 10 years. In case of any difficulty, you will receive our services for free.”

Example 4

Another mistake, which is almost the same as example 3. In this advertisement, fears are developed.

Men may be offended because they are hinted that they are not professionals. Women may be afraid, because it is not clear whether a maniac or a normal person will come to them.

Example 5

Here is a more interesting option. The target audience is more understandable - men with a car, moreover, with a pronounced problem in intimate terms.

But the question is - how many of the motorists have an erection problem? Let's assume that's enough.

Kind of like hitting the bull's-eye. Only bad luck, this proposal completely knocks the focus off auto-air conditioners. After all, it reminds of the main problem, which immediately occupies all thoughts and does not allow you to think about anything else.

Example 6

Sometimes such details are really difficult to think through, but if this happens, then change everything, and do not leave it with the words “I have already paid the money, let it be”.

Example 7

It is also worth noting the game of actors and the plot. As they say, the idea is 5, the implementation is 2. If you already decide to make a video, then do it professionally.

WE ARE ALREADY MORE THAN 29,000 people.
TURN ON

Example 8

Of course, I tell everyone that laughter is conducive to buying, even in the marketing of the most serious company, but who knew that they could understand me like that?!

And even though the naming idea is not so bad, everything else - gouge your eye out. Extra additional names or it is not clear what and why.

And the main cherry on the cake, or rather the head of an octopus, is something. Instead of a head, there should have been an octopus logo, not a man with tentacles.

Example 9

There are two very useful articles for advertisers on our blog. They are very useful, but apparently the creators of this ad did not read them.

Example 10

In the example, you see a tube, but I assure you, a dozen miraculous properties were also written on its packaging. Such advertising is not only difficult to remember, but also looks very suspicious.

Therefore, if you are making a product, then let it get rid of 1 (maximum 4) global problem, and not become a magic pill for halera, caries and dust on the shelves.

Example 11

Young people do not recognize themselves in this, and grandmothers will turn over in their graves from this. Ideally, the advertising character should be an analogue of buyers. But maybe there's something I don't understand...

Example 12

And in this example, we see the successful implementation of this error (bottom line). On the one hand, after reading such an advertisement causes shock and a smile. But on the other hand, she talks about the quality of work.

As a way to improve, reinforce the bottom phrase with the argument "Warranty", "More than 1000 machines made" or "Certified team".

Example 13

The scandal reached the FAS with the help of law-abiding citizens of Russia, who are trying to sue them several hundred thousand for insulting society in this way. Such cases are not new, and usually they end positively for the company.

But an interesting fact, the company began to grow in turnover. But as for, then everything is more complicated.

Example 14

Is it possible to be good for everyone? For example, in life you can do everything so that everyone, without exception, loves you?

Let's be honest, this is almost impossible in real life. The same is true in business. You can't be good to everyone. You must have a clear .

Example 15

What is below is almost invisible. It turns out that advertising was given for the sake of advertising. Therefore, do not forget to talk about yourself, but do not make the basic mistake of “megalomania” (more in the video below).

Briefly about the main

I hope that after reading this article, you looked at your advertising layout with relief.

Nevertheless, you should not relax, but each time more and more responsibly approach such an important issue as advertising. Surely you do not want to shine in the "bad advertising" sections of the Internet. I also recommend that you watch a video on the same topic.

You can always do better. How?! We have written dozens of articles on this topic in our blog. For the impatient, I post a list of them below. Click and read. You'll like it.

One mistake can hit a company's reputation hard - especially if you don't admit guilt in time and reassure customers. "Secret" chose how many failed cases of well-known Russian and foreign companies and asked the experts to explain what mistakes their PR specialists made and how unpleasant consequences could have been avoided.

Sberbank and cyber theft

Photo: Actionpress/TASS

In August of this year, an open letter from journalist Ekaterina Vlasova to German Gref appeared in an industry publication under the heading: “90,000 rubles were stolen from a Sberbank client from a credit card, and the bank does not want to figure it out.” It reported that in May 2015, the journalist’s mother was debited from her credit card six times for 15,000 rubles each. The bank promised to provide "comprehensive assistance to the investigating authorities", but attributed the stolen amount to the client's credit debt. A criminal case has not yet been opened. Vlasova asked Gref to take the situation under personal control. It worked. Ten minutes after the publication, an official response came from the president of the bank with a promise to sort it out. Two weeks later, the loan was canceled and the debt written off. But the press service of Sberbank demanded to change the title of the letter: they claimed that it had ceased to correspond to reality, since the results of the investigation were sent to the client.

Judging by the comments of other clients of the bank who have encountered problems, such an outcome is an exception to the rule. In the summer of 2015, information appeared that the attackers managed to transfer money to their accounts from almost 100,000 Sberbank customers, whose cards are linked to phone numbers or to the bank's mobile application on the Android platform. The bank denied this information and even tried to accuse the media of disinformation, although by that time there had already been many complaints about cyberthefts on the Web.

Inna Alekseeva CEO of PR agency PR Partner

Banks and large companies in other areas have an anti-crisis response folder for such cases. But, judging by the steps of Sberbank's PR people, they don't have it. In the anti-crisis response folder, the main possible problems related to business, customers, partners, and the response to them are thought out and spelled out. For many, Gref personifies the market changes that are taking place within this huge state financial structure, which is why they write and will write to him. The press service should think about how to create an image of an open and reasonable team focused on results, otherwise it turns out that the image of the top contradicts the soviet image that (I would like to believe - inadvertently) they form. Usually, in such cases, the press service needs to work together with the customer service department and the call center: in general, internships in these departments will only benefit any PR specialist, they will help you better feel the needs of different clients, and not fly in clouds of releases and comments.

When I worked as an internal PR specialist in one of the assets of Societe Generale, the anti-crisis response folder not only existed, but was also regularly played at trainings for both PR specialists and top managers. The same was true of the standards for responding to clients using social networks and the media. For Western communication agencies, media training, the development of communication standards and policies is almost the first step in working with clients. But, according to our internal assessment, in Russia so far no more than 10% of large companies have such standards and folders.

Aeroflot and Field of Miracles

Photo: Stanislav Krasilnikov/TASS

April 2013 appeared a video in which the host of the Field of Miracles, Leonid Yakubovich, scolds Aeroflot for the delay in the Ho Chi Minh City - Moscow flight. In the video, he calls the representative of the air carrier a "fat-assed lady", and the company itself - "scum", allowing itself a "bestial attitude" towards customers. Yakubovich claimed that passengers were kept in the waiting room for several hours without explanation and were not provided with the drinks required in such cases. According to comments under the video, food and drink vouchers were offered to passengers only after the TV presenter's speech - 10 minutes before boarding was announced.

Aeroflot did not leave the conflict without attention and published a statement explaining the reasons for the delay, and called Yakubovich's behavior boorish. According to representatives of the airline, the employees acted in accordance with all the rules. This was later confirmed by the transport prosecutor's office. However, many of the company's clients chose to believe the TV presenter rather than the investigation.

Lada Shcherbakova PR consultant

Let's proceed from the fact that we don't know how everything really happened there: either Aeroflot really didn't give a damn about the passengers, or Yakubovich had an attack of star disease. If this is scenario No. 1 and Aeroflot behaved incorrectly, then the fault of the press service is primarily that they did not teach their colleagues how to act if there is a star on board and force majeure on the flight. Such instructions should be available to all service companies that may encounter a similar situation. A star is always an additional communication risk due to its fame, and it’s hard not to recognize Yakubovich, especially since the purchase of a ticket is recorded in the database. Then it was necessary to act according to the classics of anti-crisis campaigns: we learned about the problem, we control the situation, we will definitely sort it out, find out, fix it, and punish it. With an open visor and a transparent process.

There is a scenario number 2 - "presumptuous star." Suppose Aeroflot did everything according to the instructions, but this did not suit Mr. Yakubovich and all the fuss flared up because of his bad mood. Of course, it was necessary to talk with him separately, maybe pour a glass of cognac so that he would not be nervous (again, we return to the instructions “How to work on board with a star”). But if everything continued according to the scenario “I want to fly away, do whatever you want, otherwise I will now call you an obscene word for the whole country”, then the reaction of the press service was absolutely adequate. They published a post, outlined their vision of the situation, conducted an investigation, announced the results. Calm and dignified reaction. Do not make excuses if you are not guilty - one of the key principles of anti-crisis communications. And if you are guilty - solve the problem, ask for forgiveness and thank you for the opportunity to do everything much better from now on.

It would be possible to strengthen our position and initiate some kind of educational campaign in the media for passengers: tell why flight delays happen, how dangerous it is to rush to take off without understanding what happened, how difficult it is to work under pressure, what the airline is obliged to do in such cases, what passengers may require. And at the same time conduct a training for staff "How to calm and please a star." But in no case should you continue to exaggerate the topic of a presumptuous star in the public field. A star is a dangerous rival, and even if she is wrong, she has a strong trump card - for example, the Field of Miracles has more spectators than Aeroflot has loyal passengers. But still, in my opinion, the reputation of the airline suffered less than the reputation of Mr. Yakubovich.

Ashley Madison and personal data leak

In August 2015, hackers hacked adultery service Ashley Madison and exposed the personal data of 32 million people, including many well-known personalities. At first, the hackers published only part of the information and were ready to stop the leak if the owners closed the site. But, apparently, the parties could not agree. The service's reputation suffered enormous damage, and its CEO and co-founder Noel Biederman left the company.

Masha Drokova PR studio founder

User data loss scandals are on the rise, and disclosure of personal information can be a big problem. The tragedy of Ashley Madison is not only that the company almost shut down, but also that several people committed suicide after the release of their data. Therefore, we would like companies to primarily deal with the causes of leaks, and not think about how to protect their reputation. But if it does happen, there are a few steps.

First, you need to respond immediately and proactively: not when several media outlets have already written about it, but exactly at the moment when it became known. It is better to notify users yourself and not hide anything, telling in detail about what really happened. This will help avoid speculation and an additional wave of negativity towards the company. Secondly, you need to tell what measures the company is taking in order to avoid consequences and similar mistakes in the future. Naturally, when a company has obligations to users, in particular to protect personal data, and violates them, you need to apologize for this. But the main mistakes are still untimely communication and the fact that companies often begin to dodge, trying to hide the truth, and pretend that nothing happened. And these are precisely the reasons why the situation with the trust of users is aggravated: they understand that they may not be told what really happened. And third, if any preventive measures can be taken in this situation, they must be taken. Say, if it became known that the information of 20 million users was stolen, but the data of 120 million users can be protected, then the most important thing is to take action and tell in detail what exactly the company is doing in order to avoid re-leakage. That is, in such a situation, the main thing is transparent, detailed, timely and honest communication.

Lululemon and fat shaming

Photo: Lululemon

Sometimes manual control can be a good way to turn a mistake into a PR action and get out of an unpleasant situation. But it also happens vice versa - an inadequate reaction of the company's top executive can only aggravate an already crisis situation. In March 2013, Lululemon, one of the most famous yoga clothing manufacturers, released a batch of black leggings for sale, which turned out to be not tight enough and were translucent. The company immediately received a lot of complaints from customers, the batch was recalled, explaining everything as a factory defect, and the released leggings were sold at a discount. Shares of Lululemon fell almost 20%, but after a while this incident was forgotten.

The real scandal erupted six months later, when the founder of the company, Chip Wilson, explained on Bloomberg TV what, in his opinion, happened to leggings. In his opinion, they were suitable only for slender women: “These pants are not for everyone. The problem is not the material, but the fact that in some women the hips rub harder against the fabric. Wilson began to be accused of being unethical, and the next day the founder of Lululemon had to release video message. In the video, Wilson apologized, not so much to consumers, but to his employees, who had to "deal with the unpleasant consequences of his actions." The public was dissatisfied. The scandal was covered by the world media, the company's sales plummeted, and eventually Wilson stepped down from his post.

In this case, we see poor preparation of the speaker on the part of PR specialists - it is unacceptable for the head of the company to position products in such a vein. The whole case with Lululemon shows that the mandatory preparation of the speaker greatly simplifies the work. Employees and top officials need to be explained in advance how they can and cannot respond to questions. What should be done first? A response plan is needed - it should specify which employee has the right to comment on the situation and in what context, as well as prepare the company's official position and choose an active or passive approach in communication.