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Necrothatcher
Mar 26, 2005




PYF idiotic marketing campaigns:

To get started.

Dasani Water in the UK:



This was their first slogan. They followed it up with "Bottled Spunk". They were apparently unaware of what spunk means in the UK. The brand quickly tanked after a) it was revealed Coca Cola were just bottling tap water and b) they were inadvertently adding carcinogens to the tap water. They soon removed Dasani from the market.

Greatest hits:





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fleshy echidna
Apr 11, 2010
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6ueDHn2HTk

GE decides to use a song about crushing poverty and the evils of corporate monopoly in there commercial about the power of coal.

Heath
Apr 30, 2008

🍂🎃🏞️💦


A lot of people blame this weird and peak-90s marketing campaign for Earthbound's initial commercial failure. I think it's a little much to pin it entirely on the marketing, since even at the time the game looked really primitive and boring to be competing with FF3 and Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana and whatever else was on the market at the time. The campaign seems to read like the designer's only exposure to the game was seeing someone examining the turds Pokey left behind in the desert town and thinking it was representative of the whole. That said, the whole thing fits in with the weird gross-out advertising of the period.

edit: I just noticed they included the guy in the club who says "I just farted"

canyoneer
Sep 13, 2005


I only have canyoneyes for you
Reagan used Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" as one of his campaign anthems on the road. The song sounds very rah-rah America, as long as you ignore all the words in the verses about a veteran of a pointless war being ignored once he returns home.

Sunshine Mix
Jun 11, 2009

fleshy echidna posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6ueDHn2HTk

GE decides to use a song about crushing poverty and the evils of corporate monopoly in there commercial about the power of coal.

I never knew coal mining was so sexy

Ride The Gravitron
May 2, 2008

by FactsAreUseless

canyoneer posted:

Reagan used Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" as one of his campaign anthems on the road. The song sounds very rah-rah America, as long as you ignore all the words in the verses about a veteran of a pointless war being ignored once he returns home.

W Bush did that too

Lysdexique
Sep 12, 2010

Let me give you some advice, little buddy.
It was a weird time for Sony when they released the PSP and PS3.

I present alliwantforxmasisapsp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G0LlXv-nyI

Pro tip for anyone working in advertising: Kill yourself!
But also don't try and manufacture your own viral videos. Especially if you're a 30 year old white dude trying to pass as a teenager rapping about a portable gaming console.

You Are A Werewolf
Apr 26, 2010

Black Gold!

canyoneer posted:

Reagan used Bruce Springsteen's "Born In The USA" as one of his campaign anthems on the road. The song sounds very rah-rah America, as long as you ignore all the words in the verses about a veteran of a pointless war being ignored once he returns home.

"Fortunate Son" by CCR is another one of those supposed gently caress YEAH AMERICA! songs that no one ever listens to what the lyrics are about, but "ooh, that red, white and blue!" is good enough for 4th of July celebrations and political fanfare.

Morton Haynice
Sep 9, 2008

doop doop
doop doop
doop doop
doop doop
All these ads ever succeeded at was making me wanna punch Justin Long:

Aphrodite
Jun 27, 2006

Volume posted:

W Bush did that too

A more recent candidate, Romney I think? tried to use another Springsteen song and he told them to stop.

Nostradingus
Jul 13, 2009

Morton Haynice posted:

All these ads ever succeeded at was making me wanna punch Justin Long:



This campaign always confused the heck out of me. Why would you portray your own product as a smarmy rear end in a top hat and the competitor as a lovable mug?

Lysdexique
Sep 12, 2010

Let me give you some advice, little buddy.

Morton Haynice posted:

All these ads ever succeeded at was making me wanna punch Justin Long:



It did give John Hodgman a lot of money and recognition though, so...it's a wash?

Morton Haynice
Sep 9, 2008

doop doop
doop doop
doop doop
doop doop

Aphrodite posted:

A more recent candidate, Romney I think? tried to use another Springsteen song and he told them to stop.

I believe that was Paul Ryan, and the band was Rage Against the Machine.

The response Tom Morello wrote is loving glorious.

Tom Morello posted:

I wonder what Ryan's favorite Rage song is? Is it the one where we condemn the genocide of Native Americans? The one lambasting American imperialism? Our cover of "gently caress the Police"? Or is it the one where we call on the people to seize the means of production? So many excellent choices to jam out to at Young Republican meetings!

Morpheus
Apr 18, 2008

My favourite little monsters

Lysdexique posted:

It was a weird time for Sony when they released the PSP and PS3.

I present alliwantforxmasisapsp:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G0LlXv-nyI

Pro tip for anyone working in advertising: Kill yourself!
But also don't try and manufacture your own viral videos. Especially if you're a 30 year old white dude trying to pass as a teenager rapping about a portable gaming console.

Jesus, the initial PS3 advertisements were awful. Like they were trying to create 'deep' and 'artistic' ads that featured...uh, crying baby dolls and...stuff. Other weird stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq9vHFKZHLE

Like what the gently caress.

It was all like this until they hired whoever created the Kevin Butler character - that was a stroke of genius.

Grey Fox
Jan 5, 2004

Buick released a car model with a name that was also slang for masturbation in Quebec. Other mishaps are included in the article, too.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3208501.stm

quote:

Buick 'masturbation' car renamed

-GM officials said they had been unaware that LaCrosse was a term for self-gratification among teenagers in French-speaking Quebec.

-Mitsubishi had to change the name of its Pajero model in Spanish speaking countries, where the word is a slang term for "masturbator".

-Toyota's Fiera proved controversial in Puerto Rico, where fiera translated to "ugly old woman".

-Ford didn't have the reception it expected in Brazil when their Pinto car flopped. They then discovered that in Brazilian Portuguese slang, pinto means "small penis"

canyoneer
Sep 13, 2005


I only have canyoneyes for you
Walmart crashed and burned in Germany. Their corporate culture doesn't mesh well with the German culture.

Beginning every shift by gathering up the store for a yee-haw rally group chant doesn't really thrill the German employees.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1D5kI1TyMc

Neither does having greeters at the door to smile at every customer who walks in. And the clerks are supposed to always be smiling. I guess if you're from a place that's not used to that in stores, it would be really creepy.

IKEA sells a piece of artwork with a giant map on it that labels the sea between Japan and Korea as the "Sea of Japan". Koreans call it the East Sea, and the labeling of it is a politically sensitive topic. That map was on IKEAs shelves this year in Korea as they are struggling to succeed over there :laugh:

Strom Cuzewon
Jul 1, 2010

Morton Haynice posted:

All these ads ever succeeded at was making me wanna punch Justin Long:




The UK remake was even worse, after the hired the stars of Peep Show:


Where the PC is known for being loveable and well-meaning, if a bit awkward, and the Mac is a narcissistic and arrogant sexual predator.

I liked Mac's opinion on the whole thing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV9NGJP73DE

Snatch Duster
Feb 20, 2007

by FactsAreUseless
All these campaigns succeeded though?

People are still talking about them and the brands long after they stopped airing.

Not a viking
Aug 2, 2008

Feels like I just got laid
Honda was going to release a model called Fitta in Norway. The slogan was going to be "small on the outside, big on the inside".

Fitta means "the oval office" in Norwegian.

sudonim
Oct 6, 2005

Snatch Duster posted:

All these campaigns succeeded though?

People are still talking about them and the brands long after they stopped airing.

Yeah but are we buying any product because of them?

eating only apples
Dec 12, 2009

Shall we dance?

Strom Cuzewon posted:

Where the PC is known for being loveable and well-meaning, if a bit awkward, and the Mac is a narcissistic and arrogant sexual predator.

I had to double check who was who because either of those descriptions could apply to both Mark and Jeremy.

Lysdexique
Sep 12, 2010

Let me give you some advice, little buddy.

Morpheus posted:

Jesus, the initial PS3 advertisements were awful. Like they were trying to create 'deep' and 'artistic' ads that featured...uh, crying baby dolls and...stuff. Other weird stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq9vHFKZHLE

Like what the gently caress.

It was all like this until they hired whoever created the Kevin Butler character - that was a stroke of genius.

The weird part is that Sony, or rather, Playstation had some pretty good commercials back in the PS1 and PS2 days. They were usually funny and concise...at least.

Then I dunno, maybe the marketing team got a collective aneurysm during the PS3 launch cause they went to full-on batshit insane mode.

Pick
Jul 19, 2009
Nap Ghost

Snatch Duster posted:

All these campaigns succeeded though?

People are still talking about them and the brands long after they stopped airing.

That didn't help Taco Bell. Apparently that stupid little chihuahua was actually a put-off in the aggregate.

OldTennisCourt
Sep 11, 2011

by VideoGames

Snatch Duster posted:

All these campaigns succeeded though?

People are still talking about them and the brands long after they stopped airing.

Pretty sure people would be talking about McDonald's, Sony or Mac either way

Jastiger
Oct 11, 2008

by FactsAreUseless

Snatch Duster posted:

All these campaigns succeeded though?

People are still talking about them and the brands long after they stopped airing.

Right, but that doesn't mean they were successful in selling the products. I actually have a lot of fun with commercials. They can be funny or a good talking point.

But...I'm not rating it on how well it gets me to buy their stuff. So while it may be memorable and successful as far as sticking in our heads, they probably did little to actually push the product itself, and probably even (especially in the mac example) pushed people away.

At work and can't find it. How about those little rat things for the PSP?

Dr Scoofles
Dec 6, 2004

Morpheus posted:

Jesus, the initial PS3 advertisements were awful. Like they were trying to create 'deep' and 'artistic' ads that featured...uh, crying baby dolls and...stuff. Other weird stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq9vHFKZHLE

Like what the gently caress.

It was all like this until they hired whoever created the Kevin Butler character - that was a stroke of genius.

I think I know the guy who directed this, at least, it really really looks like his brand of stupid loving poo poo. The style is spot on the same. For the life of me I can't remember his name. I went with a friend to a lecture this director guy gave at the local uni and he was the biggest arrogant, self obsessed 'edgy' rear end in a top hat I've ever had the displeasure to hear speak. He did a whole bunch of stuff for sony after he did a did an ironic 'gently caress you' advert for them that featured nazis and colonoscopy footage. Sony gobbled it up and hired him to make equally strange adverts for years. His advice to the young wannabe film makers was 'gently caress the man' and a whole slew of bullshit that would ruin all of their careers. He got lucky that his edgy gently caress you to Sony went viral, that's it, and now he thinks he is Jesus Kubrick of the ad directors world.

FutonForensic
Nov 11, 2012

Jastiger posted:

At work and can't find it. How about those little rat things for the PSP?

Oh, you mean... these???

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bP6JGh3Bmk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqHd4UysK9k

:cripes:

Stick Figure Mafia
Dec 11, 2004

Morpheus posted:

Jesus, the initial PS3 advertisements were awful. Like they were trying to create 'deep' and 'artistic' ads that featured...uh, crying baby dolls and...stuff. Other weird stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq9vHFKZHLE

Like what the gently caress.

It was all like this until they hired whoever created the Kevin Butler character - that was a stroke of genius.

When did they make their switch? They went from having the worst marketing and PR to having some of the best.
Meanwhile

Debunk This!
Apr 12, 2011



I think a lot of Sony's weirder advertising was very intentionally inciting controversy similar to Bennetton advertising in 80's and 90's.



Its still obviously a hilariously dumb move for a video game company of all things.

f#a#
Sep 6, 2004

I can't promise it will live up to the hype, but I tried my best.
Back when Pepsi came out with their new logo, the agency that designed it released a branding document detailing their approach.

It was the laughing stock of the marketing world for a good few months. Some highlights:




gnarlyhotep
Sep 30, 2008

by Lowtax
Oven Wrangler

f#a# posted:

Back when Pepsi came out with their new logo, the agency that designed it released a branding document detailing their approach.

It was the laughing stock of the marketing world for a good few months. Some highlights:






What in the hell?

Xad
Jul 2, 2009

"Either Sonic is God, or could kill God, and I do not care if there is a difference!"

College Slice

f#a# posted:

Back when Pepsi came out with their new logo, the agency that designed it released a branding document detailing their approach.

It was the laughing stock of the marketing world for a good few months. Some highlights:






Nobody ever thinks that's real at first glance. It's too stupid to be real. But it is.

What the hell is that graph at the top even supposed to mean? The old logo went into the future, then the new logo came only slightly close to the present from the future? And then there's a line about convention->innovation because :psyduck:.

Arsonist Daria
Feb 27, 2011

Requiescat in pace.

f#a# posted:

Back when Pepsi came out with their new logo, the agency that designed it released a branding document detailing their approach.

It was the laughing stock of the marketing world for a good few months. Some highlights:






Is this the secret to understanding Time Cube?

The Monkey Man
Jun 10, 2012

HERD U WERE TALKIN SHIT
It's pretty heartwarming that someone as unbalanced as the Time Cube guy managed to secure a cushy advertising job.

GOTTA STAY FAI
Mar 24, 2005

~no glitter in the gutter~
~no twilight galaxy~
College Slice

Snatch Duster posted:

All these campaigns succeeded though?

People are still talking about them and the brands long after they stopped airing.

Every time someone articulates this stupid loving idea I feel a strong urge to adopt a kitten and throw it down a well.

Jastiger
Oct 11, 2008

by FactsAreUseless

f#a# posted:

Back when Pepsi came out with their new logo, the agency that designed it released a branding document detailing their approach.

It was the laughing stock of the marketing world for a good few months. Some highlights:






The secrets of the universe are literally contained in a 12 fl oz can of sugar (or sugar substitute), acids, and all natural flavoring with some caramel coloring.

Take that Hawking, Einsten, etc.


Seriously, someone got paid millions of dollars to do this?

FutonForensic
Nov 11, 2012

Jastiger posted:

Seriously, someone got paid millions of dollars to do this?

Marketing can have some pretty weird folks involved, but this reads more to me as, "poo poo, all we did was make a cool swoopy logo but now we have to justify getting paid a buttload of money for it, better throw some documentation together with a bunch of elaborate bullshit."

AKA Pseudonym
May 16, 2004

A dashing and sophisticated young man
Doctor Rope

GOTTA STAY FAI posted:

Every time someone articulates this stupid loving idea I feel a strong urge to adopt a kitten and throw it down a well.

The Apple ads were legitimately successful though. The Mac guy seemed cool to people and the PC being dorky but likable made the whole thing more digestible than taking an outright hostile approach.

Silly Newbie
Jul 25, 2007
How do I?

GOTTA STAY FAI posted:

Every time someone articulates this stupid loving idea I feel a strong urge to adopt a kitten and throw it down a well.

That's the point though, it got you thinking about kittens. It was an ad for kittens, you see, and because it got you thinking about them (albeit horrible destructive thoughts) that makes it Good.

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Leon Einstein
Feb 6, 2012
I must win every thread in GBS. I don't care how much banal semantic quibbling and shitty posts it takes.

Pretty sure that's fake.

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