Bad Ads
Recently I’ve noticed a number of interesting advertisements/branding campaigns.
First, Miracle Whip introduced a new campaign designed to connect with today’s youth. Behold: “We Are Miracle Whip.”
Via Marketing Daily:
Themed “We are Miracle Whip. And we will not tone it down,” TV ads are set to a jangly soundtrack from rock band The Datsuns, featuring people who “proudly embrace the flavor of Miracle Whip without apology,” says a Kraft spokesperson. “We will not be quiet,” the voiceover says. “We will not blend in. And when we are in a salad or a sandwich or a panini or crostini, you’ll know it. We are Miracle Whip.”
The campaign also includes a Facebook App called “The Zingr,” which apparently allows you to create your own “zing.”
Pizza Hut also unveiled plans to rebrand itself as “The Hut.” As their chief marketing officer explains (via Consumerist), this is apparently not meant to link eating Pizza Hut’s product with becoming grossly obese, like the more famous Hut, Jabba:
“We’re also introducing another vocabulary word with Pizza Hut, which is ‘The Hut.’ That ties in nicely with [today’s] texting generation….As we expand our online and mobile businesses, ‘The Hut’ is the perfect icon for our mobile generation.”
It almost goes without saying, but I think both of these moves are badly misguided attempts to connect with a young target markets. “Young people” know when they’re being pandered to, especially when it’s this obvious, and when something tries this hard to be “cool,” or to tell people what “cool” is, it’s probably going to fall flat. (Anyone remember the Poochie episode of The Simpsons?) Oh, and being the object of this sort of ridicule is probably not what they had in mind.
Let’s move now from stupid to tasteless. Check out this Burger King ad, which is apparently running in Singapore (image via Copyranter).
Where to begin? The obvious fellatio association is heightened by the creamy mayonnaise and the ad copy (“Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled…Yearn for more after you taste the mind-blowing burger….”). And the fact that the woman looks like a blow-up doll is, as Copyranter notes, a “nice misogynistic touch.” Granted, women probably aren’t the target market, but it’s probably not a good idea to offend them anyway.
By way of explanation Burger King offered this statement (via Gawker):
“Burger King Corporation (BKC) values and respects all of its guests. This advertisement is running to support a limited promotion in the Singapore market and is not running in the U.S. or any other markets. It was produced by a locally-based Singapore agency and not by BKC’s U.S. advertising agency of record, Crispin Porter and Bogusky.”
Don’t worry, people! We didn’t do it! But we apparently don’t mind our brand being associated with it.
And, finally, the Dean Cain ad from Microsoft about the phenomenon of “OMGIGP,” or, “Oh My God I’m Going To Puke,” which features—you guessed it—a woman vomiting. Repeatedly. You can see it here. Gross.
The taste level of these ads is stunningly low. Jokes about sex and gross bodily functions may be de rigeur in Judd Apatow movies, but they don’t belong here: I should desire the product, not cringe and say, “really?”
Indeed, in all four instances, I’m left wondering who created the ads and, more interestingly, who approved them? When major corporations reach out to a prime buying audience—young adults—you’d think they could do better than this. In today’s connected world, being genuine, transparent, and responsive are key to branding and marketing. It’s obviously easier to tear down bad efforts than create successful campaigns, but thinking at a base, fundamental level, it seems to me these ads are not in touch with the reality of marketing today.
