# Most ill-conceived ad campaigns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2009, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872 "2009-08-18T19:02:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/161 "2009-08-21T17:37:39Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I believe that he replaced Creepy Dancing Old Guy for 2008, but Creepy Dancing Old Guy returned in 2009. They kept the same basic format (“One flag! Six flags!”), but just replaced Asian Billy Mays with CDOG. > > Either way, weird ads. I just imagine him molesting children behind the Great American Scream Machine while shouting, “Six Flags!” [Robot Chicken - Six Flags guy.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKkTFwLgNAk&NR=1&feature=fvwp) ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/162 "2009-08-21T17:48:08Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > I just imagine him molesting children behind the Great American Scream Machine while shouting, “Six Flags!” > > [Robot Chicken - Six Flags guy.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKkTFwLgNAk&NR=1&feature=fvwp) Is _that_ what that skit was referring to? I’ve been confused by that one forever. I guess one side effect of living near Carowinds is we don’t get much Six Flags advertising. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/163 "2009-08-21T17:51:22Z")
The newest campaign for Vonage is a giant mouth and giant ear having a stupid little conversation about how Vonage doesn’t have hidden fees. I recently cancelled Vonage after 8 months (because the service never worked as advertised; calls were, at best, sorta kinda okay). I got hit with $120 in fees, $70 early termination fee (despite NOT being on a contract) and a $50 equipment fee (the free equipment was apparently only free because of a rebate they “withdraw” if you cancel within a year). $120 in fees. That’s six months of service. I called to complain and got a straight up, “No, we won’t help you and I won’t transfer you to anybody higher up than I am.” ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/164 "2009-08-21T18:04:03Z")
Quizno’s had some bizarre commercial’s that looked like some singing menstrual blots a few years ago that terrified me. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/165 "2009-08-21T18:14:48Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I believe that he replaced Creepy Dancing Old Guy for 2008 Yeah, that’s what I meant. I was just glad they replaced shouty Asian dude with anyone! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/166 "2009-08-21T18:29:27Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Quizno’s had some bizarre commercial’s that looked like some singing menstrual blots a few years ago that terrified me. Ahhh, the [spongmonkey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spongmonkey) ads. I think they blew the King away on the bizarro scale. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/167 "2009-08-21T18:33:09Z")
Apparently it was only marketed in certain regions, but IMO, [OK Soda](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OK_Soda) really deserves the title of Most Ill-Conceived Ad Campaign. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/168 "2009-08-21T18:35:07Z")
No time to read the whole thread, so apologies if somebody already mentioned this . . . but does anyone remember Miller Beer and the “Dick campaign”? It was from around 1997-98, and the idea was that Dick was a nerdy ad executive who thought up really dumb things, like “My new idea . . . the one-pak!” (A can of beer.) The problem was, people didn’t look at and say, “Wow, that’s really hip, post-modern, and ironic.” They looked at it and said, wow, that’s dumb. The campaign was such a flop that Miller fired the ad agency, and if you’re in the ad business getting fired by Bud or Miller is a very, very bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/169 "2009-08-21T18:41:39Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Ahhh, the [spongmonkey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spongmonkey) ads. I think they blew the King away on the bizarro scale. And caused me to swear I’d never eat at Quizno’s. Way to go, mindshare people. Come to think of it, Quizno’s current ad series is pretty awful, too. It’s got a Quizno’s employee either images his oven is talking to him, or who really has an anthropomorphic oven. And there’s plenty of sexual subtext, because the oven talks like a wannabe Barry White. The full version of the first ad implied the guy had once stuck his, erm, six-inch hero in the oven. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/170 "2009-08-21T19:27:53Z")
For those criticizing the Charmin adds, really, how do you think you _should_ advertise toilet paper? You pretty much either have to go for the completely irrelevant, what the heck does this have to do with the product, ads, or you have to go scatological (since this is, after all, toilet paper we’re talking about). Given that, I think that going scatological with anatomically-incorrect animated animals is about the best you can do. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/171 "2009-08-21T19:57:21Z")
Even so, the one where the little bear bends over and shows all the bits of paper stuck to his rectum-free backside went, IMHO, overboard. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/172 "2009-08-21T19:58:17Z")
Okay, I just came across this relevant article. [http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1907218\_1907236,00.html](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1907218_1907236,00.html) Not only the 7" blowjob burger (from BK, naturally), but some other wonders. I really like relaxed Hitler. [http://blogofhilarity.com/2009/05/21/i-love-you-relaxed-hitler](http://blogofhilarity.com/2009/05/21/i-love-you-relaxed-hitler) The IKEA one boggles the mind. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/173 "2009-08-21T20:54:25Z")
I visit **Subway** at least once a week (it’s clean and easy to eat at my desk), and while not ill-conceived, it sure is long in the tooth: Jared. As Homer Simpson describes him, “that guy who used to be fat but now he’s just ugly.” He must have a lifetime contract, because his story isn’t even referred to any more (that I can see), and he brings nothing to the marketing. Their new on-again, off-again spokesman Michael Phelps is depicted in the in-store posters as bare-topped and with a wide, kind of spooky grin, and in GREEN! He really looks like The Hulk going apeshit. ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/174 "2009-08-21T21:19:09Z")
The BK creepy King campaign won me over a little bit when BK signed on to sponsor Spanish soccer team Getafe. Getafe’s shirt has the BK logo on the front, but the inside has a special treat for those post-goal celebrations: [Link](http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/this-getafe-goal-celebration-was-brought-to-you-by-burger-king.html) ---
**Author:** ![Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ian\_D.Bergkamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ian_D.Bergkamp)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/175 "2009-08-21T21:22:12Z")
Pepsi’s “Brown and Bubbly” Super Bowl ad had to be a joke, right? If not, that one does straight to the top of the “ill-conceived” list, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/176 "2009-08-21T21:38:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Ahhh, the [spongmonkey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spongmonkey) ads. I think they blew the King away on the bizarro scale. > [@Marley23](#): > > And caused me to swear I’d never eat at Quizno’s. It’s funny, because if not for those ads, I never would’ve eaten at Quizno’s in the first place. So it worked for some people, anyway. THEY GOT A PEPPER BAR! ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/177 "2009-08-21T22:48:03Z")
> [@TV\_time](#): > > I know some will say it was just a myth, but I remember the ad for the early Toyotas. > > **From the people who brought you Pearl Harbor!!!** _From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor_ was the name of a book by advertising executive [Jerry Della Femina](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Della_Femina). > [@](#): > > The title refers to a tongue-in cheek slogan proposed for the client Panasonic during a brainstorming session. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/178 "2009-08-21T22:53:09Z")
> [@Die Hard](#): > > Pearl Harbor didn’t work out, so we got you with tape decks! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/179 "2009-08-21T23:25:47Z")
> [@I'm Not Dennis Bergkamp](#): > > The BK creepy King campaign won me over a little bit when BK signed on to sponsor Spanish soccer team Getafe. Getafe’s shirt has the BK logo on the front, but the inside has a special treat for those post-goal celebrations: > > [Link](http://www.theoffside.com/world-football/this-getafe-goal-celebration-was-brought-to-you-by-burger-king.html) Yeah. I’ll give that one to them. That _is_ kind of funny. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872/180 "2009-08-22T00:48:58Z")
- Pizza Hut commercial, woman offering samples of stuff to dip in melted chocolate. Not only are we too fat already, she has the lamest fake “French” accent in the universe. I see it ten times a day and I hate it more every time. - Hyperactive Miracle Whip commercial defiantly bellowing “we will NOT tone it DOWN!” Dudes. It’s Miracle Whip, key ingredient of cheap tasting Walmart potato salad. You put it on white bread and baloney sammitches if you live in a double-wide. It’s nothing to have a seizure about! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-ill-conceived-ad-campaigns/506872.md?page=10)