Badvertising: The Legend of the Cursed Kleenex Commercial
Why is a 1986 Japanese Kleenex commercial still making rounds on the internet? The creepy urban legend behind the video shows that a bit of mystery can go a long way in marketing.
Badvertising: Smoke on the Water
A Jagermeister pool party sent nine people to the hospital. But the guilty party wasn’t the alcohol itself. Here’s how an unfortunate chemistry lesson highlights the perils of jumping right into the deep end.
Badvertising: Social Studies
Penn State had an interesting idea for gaining social media followers—asking unlucky drivers to follow them on Facebook and Twitter on the back of parking violation tickets. How can businesses be strategic about increasing their follower counts?
Badvertising: Hard to Swallow
Subway’s message about healthy eating got lost in its bizarre, fat-shaming commercial in which a woman models sexy Halloween costumes for her coworkers. It’s a lesson in bad copywriting and how controversy can overshadow an ad’s message.
Badvertising: The Grim Truth
In 2014, AirportParkingReservations.com ran a tasteless ad trying to capitalize on an actual tragedy. Here’s what this incident can teach us about clueless copywriting.
