As we can all imagine, coming up with a brilliant ad that resonates with people is quite challenging. It requires a great deal of creativity and other factors in order to create commercials that linger in our minds, logos that we always recognize, soundtracks that will play in our heads, or billboards that complete their surroundings. These can become masterpieces and even part of popular culture themselves, capable of transforming a small business into a successful beast.
On the other hand, there are the ads that leave us indifferent. We’ve seen them, we acknowledge their existence… and we quickly forget about them. However, there exists another group within the marketing world — ads that have failed miserably. We witness numerous failures in this realm, ranging from unfortunate word choices in slogans, poor graphic design decisions to coincidental ad placements that convey a completely different story than their creators intended.
Today, we have selected a fresh assortment of these gems that have transformed from marketing creations into hilarious memes, injecting a dose of laughter into the regular lives of those who stumble upon them and later share them with a larger audience.
#1 This Billboard Ad Peeling Off
Image credits: Jimachi
#2 This Church Has Some Rather Unfortunate Ad Placement For Its Bible Camp
Image credits: LunaMcLovin
#3 The Irony
Image credits: ZombieMam
As mentioned before, there may be plenty of reasons why some advertisements fail. Sometimes it’s simply an unfortunate coincidence. The marketing team ensures that the ad is of the best quality, but then the final product ends up in the wrong place, ruining everything the authors worked so hard to convey. In other cases, it’s clear from the start that something went wrong, and the ad makes no sense. This category includes slogans with double meanings or tragically selected words.
#4 This Ad
Image credits: boomboonpow
#5 That’s The Best Photo They Could Get Of A Kid Getting A Haircut
Image credits: g_nome7
#6 Keanu Reeves And His New Movie “Jim Nhock 3”
Image credits: sam_clements
We must also distinguish between a design that may be intentionally humorous or provocative and one that is genuinely a design failure or ineffective in its messaging. We all enjoy a bit of dark humor and silly jokes. The truth is, some marketing failures get away with it because no one can believe that anyone would intentionally release something so bad to the public… So maybe it’s not bad at all? Maybe it’s just creative?
#7 The Girl In This Advertisement Looks Like A Stroke Victim
Image credits: fakeg1rl
#8 There’s An Optometrist Business Near My House That Has This Giant Poster Outside Advertising Colored Contacts. It Seems To Have Aged In A “Is That A Demon?” Way
Image credits: philosophyfirst1989
#9 This Pillow Is So Good You’d Rather Use Your Hands To Sleep On
Image credits: Mrsheenshine
Now, intentional or not, a bad advertisement doesn’t have to be a total failure. How can we call it a failure when it spreads like wildfire across the internet, making the advertised product even more popular than if the promotion had been decent and “okay”? In the end, it doesn’t matter what they say; what’s important is that they’re talking at all! This holds true when it comes to this topic.
#10 It Doesn’t Look Like It Was Repaired
Image credits: oliverodaa
#11 This Is Fanta Advertisement, And Something Is Wrong With Her Arm
Image credits: coolocole
#12 That Could’ve Been A Nice Ad For Linux Or Something
Image credits: rSoftwareGore
In conclusion, for better or worse, there will always be some failures in advertising. So, we should all be on alert and look around to capture these gems. They are like real-life memes, adding a little bit of spice to our sometimes grey reality and bringing a smile to our faces on the most exhausting days.
#13 People Are Going Crazy Over This Hardee’s Ad In Pakistan
Image credits: faizdar
#14 I Don’t Even Know What Is This
Image credits: howsitgoing-kevin
#15 This Advertisement Was In A Parenting Magazine, And It Was For Yogurt
Image credits: holyroller801
#16 These Billboard Placements
Image credits: PhoneDojo
#17 This Ad In My Town Scorched Out By The Sun, Looks Like A Poster From A Horror Movie
Image credits: inderumwelt
#18 This Ad In My Print Copy Of The New Yorker. I Tried To Click It, And Nothing Happened. Total Scam
Image credits: crispytacofan
#19 Vote For Me
Image credits: mungoflago
#20 This Ad On Facebook For Permanent Makeup
Image credits: rreddit.com
#21 This NYC Subway Ad With Six Hands
Image credits: whatsiteverwas
#22 This Bench Advertises That “No Kid Should Ever Have To Sleep On The Streets” And Then Adds Bars So Homeless People Can’t Sleep On The Bench
Image credits: Arcade_Maggot_Bones
#23 Whatever The Hell This Advertisement Is
Image credits: Maddybear167
#24 They Should’ve Tried A Little Bit More With This Ad
Image credits: reddit.com
#25 Sandwich Board Advertising Seniors Day But Because Of This Fastener Placement, It Looks Creepy
Image credits: bycrackybygum
#26 They Had One Job
Image credits: Reildo
#27 Face That’s Too Handsome So It Doesn’t Need A Mask On
Image credits: depok24jam
#28 This Bus Ad That Will Catch Your Attention
Image credits: cristinaburrito
#29 This Advertisement’s Placement
Image credits: Get_Stamosed
#30 The Head Of This Advertisement Should Probably Be Fired
Image credits: Meacaveman
#31 Advertising Placement Is Everything
Image credits: eveliomattos
#32 I Got This Ad On A Snapchat. Just Look At This Cat
Image credits: ameierk
#33 A New Movie Coming Out: “Lemen The Gent” Directed By The Guy
Image credits: ForgiveMePapa
#34 Stop Putting Images Of People On The Stairs
Image credits: DaBug_
#35 Finally, A Deal That Suits My Acquired Taste
Image credits: Sir_Sriracha1
#36 A Very Vague Billboard
Image credits: ramonccm
#37 Spotted On My Way Into Manchester This Morning
Image credits: Pixel_Chris
#38 This Ad For A New Pizza Place Showed Up Today. I Really Don’t Understand The Message They’re Trying To Send
Image credits: lilwhitestormy
#39 The Placement Of This Baby’s Head
Image credits: ninimalini
#40 A Well Crafted Advertisement
Image credits: DavidKluger16061
#41 What Does It Mean?
Image credits: SlothOfThe7Sins
#42 This Unfortunate Placement Of A Handle
Image credits: loselmuh
#43 That Chimney Looked Better Before Than After
Image credits: Ledyncark
#44 What Is Happening On This Billboard?
Image credits: GoodishBookish
#45 Someone Forgot To Put The Information
Image credits: sh20
#46 I Found This Ad With A Very Long Thumb
Image credits: collinxdd
#47 Part Of This Charity Advertisement Has Unfortunately Peeled Off To Reveal The Previous Advertisement Underneath
Image credits: taz-taz
#48 I Saw An Interesting Van Coming Home From School
Image credits: Mixaling
#49 This Adidas Billboard In Beijing
Image credits: epixdude3129
#50 It’s Election Season In My City, And This Is The Mayor’s Reelection Campaign
Image credits: throwaway7438484
#51 They’re Just A Bit Careless With Their Wording
Image credits: PileOfGoop
#52 Billboard Fail. I Wonder If There’s A Way To Connect Remotely So That I Can Put My Own Stuff On There
Image credits: aerodawgs
#53 I Saw This Billboard With The Computer File Still On It
Image credits: HybridHyena
#54 In This Advertisement, Not A Single Person Is Wearing Earphones
Image credits: n0_1d
#55 A Political Party Banner In Romania
Image credits: mihcos
#56 Is This The Giant’s Treadmill?
Image credits: phillypharm
#57 Advertising A BTS Concert, You Can’t Go To
Image credits: Orange-Crocs
#58 New Billboard By The Freeway I Use Every Day. I Have Never Seen One As Bright As This. It’s Extremely Distracting, And You Literally Cannot Look Directly At It While Driving
Image credits: reddit.com
#59 An Advertisement For Medicine On A Supermarket In France
Image credits: lhegemonique
#60 These Fake Glasses On The Ad In My Town
Image credits: Margouille97
#61 Another One On A Bus
Image credits: howardkinsd
#62 Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Image credits: MrFluxWolf
#63 This Advertisement
Image credits: flopsytheb
#64 At Least They Tried
Image credits: ZyleanWolf
#65 When You Don’t Know What Strawberries Are When Making An Advertisement
Image credits: ArKita-LiWen
#66 MG Is A Chinese Company Now, And That Would Explain The Spelling Mistakes
Image credits: okrafest
#67 This Ad Is For Dental Care. It Fails To Show The Teeth In The Before Picture
Image credits: trigunnerd
#68 I Don’t Think The Marketing Team Behind The Hobbit Thought This Ad Placement Through
Image credits: mi-16evil
#69 This Movie Poster
Image credits: guardiandevil
#70 This Unreadable Ad
Image credits: ashcash1234
#71 This Digital Billboard At The Airport. Yes, Every Advertisement Was Like This
Image credits: lovecraftfluff
#72 This Ad Of A Kid Holding A Nerf Gun The Wrong Way
Image credits: P0isonW0lf
#73 Don’t Have Hep C? Get Some
Image credits: Dtomnom
#74 I Found This Ad For Lemonade While Shopping
Image credits: Samang0
#75 If You Put Up An LED Sign, It Will Help Attract Business
Image credits: asdfgdhtns
#76 This Local Beauty Salon’s Ad
Image credits: Resilience1
#77 Earphone Adapter Advertisement On The Phone That Already Has An Earphone Jack
Image credits: Codyjames34526
#78 They Really Like Putting Ads On A Car Windows
Image credits: Im-Borruito-uzumake
#79 This Upside Down Billboard
Image credits: NathanGettman
#80 This Sign Is Upside Down
Image credits: TgaszT
#81 I Was Staring At This Sticker For So Long, Trying To Figure Out What It Was Advertising
Image credits: am817
#82 Advertisement For A New Children’s Hospital Opening Soon
Image credits: Will_Poke_Brains
#83 On My Bus
Image credits: Fibz__
#84 This Billboard. You’re Supposed To Read This While Driving
Image credits: 42fishyfish
#85 Novak Looking Good
Image credits: jfdanta
#86 This Advertisement
Image credits: DesignerFrequent
#87 This Advertisement Makes No Sense
Image credits: dizzy365izzy
#88 This Advertisement I Found In Bulgaria
Image credits: reddit.com
#89 All Of It Just Feels Off
Image credits: Because_8
#90 I Saw This Cheese Ad In My Country, New Zealand
Image credits: nznikin
#91 Every Small Town In Texas Is Just A Highway Intersection And Five Of These Billboards
Image credits: schnedwob
#92 This Inverted Image On An Advertisement Flyer
Image credits: DoodDoes
#93 In A German Train Station
Image credits: y-u-gay_420
#94 The Idea Is There Just An Awful Execution. Before/After Written On Her Forehead
Image credits: _Nikorasu
#95 They Thought It Was A Good Idea To Use This Guy’s Head As A Letter “A” For This Bus Stop Bench Ad
Image credits: kimbclark
#96 I Guess They Don’t Care How The Advertisement Looks As Long As It’s Put Up
Image credits: Lursmani1
#97 Billboarders Of Maidstone – You Had One Job
Image credits: atwatinahat_
#98 A Photo That Was Put On A Car. It’s A Lot Funnier Seeing This In Person
Image credits: Megafro
#99 This Mistake In The Ad
Image credits: susannteplinsky
#100 Disclaimer On Ad Is Unreadable Unless You Stand Next To It With Binoculars
Image credits: _fece
#101 This Very Uneven “Watermelon Freeze” Sign
Image credits: QuinnMallory
#102 This Is An Advertisement For A Bank In Poland
Image credits: Pan_Zarowka
#103 I Thought This Was A Headstone At First. It’s An Ad For A Hair Salon
Image credits: iceariina
#104 Billboard Right Next To The School Of Graphics And Design
Image credits: miko_talik
#105 This Is A Tarp Billboard That A Team Of Workers Probably Spent An Hour Or Two Putting Up, Only To Notice The Mistake And Say: “Screw It”
Image credits: Bagelhitman1010
#106 Poor Placement
Image credits: TankoBOB