Marketing Campaigns Which Failed

A good marketing campaign makes a company look smart.  However, over the years, there have been some campaigns produced by famous brands which did not sit well with people.  Here are four such examples, where the idea behind the marketing campaigns by famous brands failed miserably.

Marketing campaigns which failed

1) Pepsi “Jump In” campaign

Pepsi’s 2017 marketing campaign featuring reality star Kendall Jenner is considered one of the biggest campaign failures by the brand.  The campaign depicted Kendall Jenner trying to keep the Black Lives Matters protest under control by offering a can of Pepsi.  The message behind the advertisement did not sit well with many people worldwide.  The campaign received major backlash on social media and was pulled down just after one day of its release.  The brand had to apologize for the campaign and PepsiCo’s president Brad Jakeman resigned from his position and described the campaign as “the most gut wrenching experience” of his career.

2) Audi “Chinese Wedding” commercial

A campaign by Audi China about second hand cars sparked outrage due to its controversial content.  The advertisement tried to channel the idea of checking out a car before purchasing it.  Unfortunately, this was depicted by a mother in law checking out her future daughter in law by pinching her lips and pulling her nose.  The campaign followed the tag line “An important decision must be made carefully.”  The campaign saw a public outcry because of its comparison of women to cars.  The backlash caused Audi’s China division to publish an apology on their WeChat account.

3) Dove “Body Positive Packaging” campaign 

Dove’s long running real beauty campaign is popular among many and is well received.  However, its 2017 body positive packaging campaign became a failure. Dove released a limited edition packaging in England, which tried to represent the diversity of female bodies. The Company released only 7 bottles from which women could choose one based on their body shape.  The packaging compared women’s figures to abstract, shapeless bottles of soap. The campaign’s message behind the packaging and the limited representation of body types came across wrong and became a punchline on social media. 

4) McDonald’s “UK TV Spot” commercial

The UK McDonald’s ran a commercial where a young boy talks about his late father and how they shared a love for McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwiches.  McDonald’s received criticism for the campaign as people blamed the Company for exploiting grief to sell sandwiches. The backlash resulted in the commercial being pulled down permanently from all media sources.

If you think we missed any other failed marketing campaigns by any famous brand, comment below and let us know.