15 Insanely Terrible Advertising Campaigns You Won't Believe Are Real
Don Draper would not approve.
No matter what product is being sold, an advertisement absolutely has to be memorable. Large corporations spend billions of dollars a year producing commercials that will stick with you, convey a message, and promote brand recognition. But as we have seen again and again, attempts to stand out from the crowd can backfire spectacularly, with ads that do nothing but offend and confuse.
These 15 sorry attempts at marketing were nothing short of embarrassing for everyone involved, usually resulting in dismal sales, derisive comments and Don Draper rolling over in his grave.
15. Dockers "Wear The Pants" Ad Is Incredibly Sexist
This truly embarrassing Dockers ad campaign is so misogynistic that it comes across like a parody of bad marketing. First of all, it's a huge pain to even read the overstuffed poster, which attempts to pack in 165 words into a tiny image. If you are unfortunate enough to make out the entire paragraph, you'll be greeted with a sexist rant about how men aren't really men anymore, and they need to wear the pants again.
Some of their examples of this are that women are now opening doors for themselves and men are drinking non-fat lattes and eating salads. "We need men to put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar and untie the world from the tracks of complacency. It's time to get your hands dirty. It's time to answer the call of manhood. It's time to wear the pants."
Yeah! Screw this progressive society where women are equal and don't need men to give them permission to enter buildings! What's with men eating salads instead of something manly that will clog their arteries and kill them at 52? All these feminists and their lattes! It couldn't possibly be any more condescending, and of all the emotions it elitics, none of them involve wanting to buy khakis.