Promotions that have the opposite effect of that which was intended

This thread is about times you saw something that was advertised or promoted, where your reaction was to stay away from whatever was supposed to draw you in.

I saw an electronic billboard tonight advertising that Wednesday was Dollar Beer Night at the local minor league hockey team’s game. My mental reaction was to think “So, an arena full of rowdy fans drunk on cheap beer, who are then all going to head to their cars and drunk drive home? Uhh…no!” I realized that for me, Dollar Beer night promotions work in reverse. I might go on a regular game night, but never during that promotion.

Another example: The local (horse) racetrack has live music on Friday nights. Inside their enclosed grandstand. If I’m at the track, the LAST thing I want is an inescapable live band blaring while I try and decipher the Racing Form.

I’m sure I’m at least somewhat in the minority on both of these, as they’ve both had these for quite some time. But I’m sure some of you have other examples…

Whenever a thread like this comes up, I always use my favorite example. Years ago there was a commercial for some car or another. The car pulled out on to an (arena style) ice rink and sort of drifted around. Sliding back and forth like a figure skater. They were trying to show how graceful it was. Everytime I saw the ad I always thought “that car handles terribly on ice, look at it, it’s got no traction at all”.

I have to wonder of the ad people who came up with it have never had the luxury of driving on ice for three or four months out of the year.

You know, when I hear commercials for things like mattresses and sofas and dining room sets and the like where “this weekend only get up to 50% off!” I wonder why the fuck the regular price is so high. I really look down on places that have blowout sales like this, because obviously if they’re still making money at 50% off then they’ve been gouging customers the rest of the year.

They mark the stuff up so they can mark it down, later. Every now and then some fool will buy the crap at the full markup, so, even more profit than usual. But yeah, if I’m constantly hearing about how there’s a sale going on at a mattress chain (THIS WEEK ONLY! and then it’s EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER TWO DAYS!!), then I tend to think that this chain is probably ripping people off.

I’m also rather skeptical that various items are truly “valued at $X, priced at $X/2”.

And insurance commercials are almost universally bad. There are a few that aren’t outright offensive, but even those commercials tend to oversaturate the media, so that the public gets sick of them.

In the Detroit area (elsewhere? I don’t know or care) we have been assaulted by a series of Hungry Howie’s tv ads that consist of 2 guys (no females ever) in an office, discussing new flavors for Hungry Howie pizzas. They are completely obnoxious, shouty in that spit-splattering, over-the top excited way. Both are spectacularly unappealing, as are the pizzas they are waving around. I would never darken the doorstep of a Hungry Howie’s, no matter how hungry.

On the other hand, the driver didn’t go sliding out of control and through the walls.
So it didn’t really handle badly on ice.

There have been a bunch of H&M billboards in my area, with your stereotypical underweight model types in too much eyeliner and uncomfortable poses sporting some fine looking clothing and handbags.

Left me with the impression that H&M is an expensive, upscale store out of my price range that caters to anorexic teenage girls and 20something bar sluts.

Not so much. Turns out they have women’s and men’s and kid’s stuff, and much of it is fairly reasonably priced, or even cheap. It’s not actually out of my demographic (middle aged married schlub) as those billboards led me to believe.

I saw some promos for the upcoming ABC series Red Widow and thought “Hmm, that might have potential. Maybe check that out”.

Then they started a new promo campaign: “Red Widow, from the screenwriter of the Twilight series”. Oh, cool…thank you for making it clear that I needn’t waste my time.

“NEW! Improved Flavor!” never bodes well.

For me, it’s “New Look!”. Same old crap inside.
From a few years ago; Hot Pockets. On the package “Now with Real Cheese!”
So they admitted that before it wasn’t.

Last time we were on vacation we rented a compact car and they gave us a Kia Soul. I thought it was a decent good handling little car with some decent cargo space and wouldn’t mind having one.
I reconsidered after seeing the non-stop hip-hop hamster ads. I don’t want people thinking I’m having a midlife crisis and got myself the cool car all the teens will envy.

“Bark at the Park” night at my local Major League Baseball team.
Yeah. I’m not a dog person. Thanks for the warning. I’ll skip it.

That series of Hardees ads where they’d show somebody chomping and slurping and smacking their way through a huge burger with all kinds of shit running down their chin, wiping their hands on their shirts, etc. If I’m eating fast food, it’s usually because I’m out and about, and in those situations I generally like to keep my clothes reasonably clean, ya know? “Our food is a super-messy grease bomb for mannerless boors!!!” doesn’t exactly appeal.

All of Carl’s Jr.'s ads, fuck that sloppy shit.

The current ATT commercials with the adult and kids in a classroom.

Obnoxious, precocious little twits. What was ATT thinking that this would sell phone communications?

I often see commercials that are extremely obnoxious. I want to tell the company, “I am buying this* despite *your commercial, not because of it.”

Since Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. are owned by the same parent company, I’d wager the two ad campaigns are virtually identical.

Axe body spray has about the most offensive, terrible ad campaign in history. The actual stuff really isn’t offensive or terrible when used in moderation.

But yeah, I’m a 20-something gay guy and I would never in my life let axe body spray touch my body. I mean, I know logically that women aren’t going to just be ripping their clothes off to get with me if I wear it… but I don’t want to take that chance!

The 2 morons in a car ads for Sonic. God damn they seriously make me not want to go there.

And I have always hated the McDonalds Coffee - It’s Good Now! ad. What, it was pure shite before?

I actually think the Sonic guys are kind of funny. We don’t even have any Sonics around here, so it’s kind of a moot point …

Yes. Yes, it was.