So Bad It's Horrible/Advertising: Difference between revisions

Line 13:

* Many, if not ''all'', animated web and pop-up ads (''especially'' those with loud sounds) can easily fall here, especially if you have an older, slower OS or a mobile platform. And let's not get started on the pop-ups that take over your screen. Yes, it does cost money to [[Tropes Will Ruin Your Life|ruin our lives]], but [[What Were You Thinking?|why do these execs seriously believe that clogging up people's modems so their logo can fly across your screen and obscure the text you're trying to read will create a positive reception for their product]]?

** Most of these ads are for scams of one sort or another anyway; anyone who doesn't hate them for their sales pitch will hate them when they discover their computer is full of viruses, or they've just had their credit card number stolen, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|or acai berry doesn't really whiten their teeth]]. Reputable businesses with real products to sell know better than to risk their reputation with this sort of advertising.

** Any web ad that disguises itself as a Microsoft Windows dialog box. Designed to trick gullible users into downloading spyware and [http://www.bbbonline.org/reliability/code/principle1.asp will get the makers in hot water with the Better Business Bureau] (I-A-2, second bullet point). It backfires horribly for users of other OSes, or even reasonably-recent versions of Windows, as these ads usually impersonate the Windows 98 or XP style of dialog boxes, and shifting your color scheme even a shade from the default will betray those that impersonate the Vista/7/8/10 window style.

** Any web ad that disguises itself as a Microsoft Windows dialog box. Designed to trick gullible users into downloading spyware and [https://web.archive.org/web/20100910024356/http://www.bbbonline.org/reliability/code/principle1.asp will get the makers in hot water with the Better Business Bureau] (I-A-2, second bullet point). It backfires horribly for users of other OSes, or even reasonably-recent versions of Windows, as these ads usually impersonate the Windows 98 or XP style of dialog boxes, and shifting your color scheme even a shade from the default will betray those that impersonate the Vista/7/8/10 window style.

* Certain sites used to distribute .zip or .rar files, such as Megaupload or Sendspace, will occasionally have advertisements which masquerade as the download button — and, when clicked, pipes .exe files into your computer.

* Any snail-mail spam sent in an envelope deliberately designed to resemble envelopes used for official government documents. Depending on the local laws and the degree of resemblance, this may not even be legal, but in some regions of the U.S. it's both legally grey and a fairly popular tactic. Additional shame goes to those who disguise the contents as an official government document as well. ''Consumer Reports'' occasionally wall-of-shames these in their back-page feature "Selling It" between humorous typos and absurdly spacious packaging.

* In 2005, [[McDonald's]] launched an online viral campaign that was designed to promote the company's "[[Younger and Hipper|younger, hipper]]" image. Using a series of banner images emblazoned with young people eating double cheeseburgers, the ads were meant to convey a more playful attitude (in tandem with the company's well-established "I'm lovin' it" campaign). Sounds good, but during the creation of this campaign the ad agency that oversaw it decided to run with a disquieting slogan — "Double cheeseburger? [[Unfortunate Implications|I'd hit it. I'm a dollar menu guy.]]". Whoever did the copy for that slogan evidently didn't know that "[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I%27d+Hit+it I'd hit it]" was slang for wanting sexual intercourse with another person, and that phrasing, rather than instilling in consumers the desire of going for burgers for dinner, instead conjured up images of [[Cargo Ship|people doing unfortunate acts with sandwiches]]. When the banners appeared on sites like [http://andrewteman.org/blog/2005/01/26/mcdonalds-wants-you-to-fck-its-sandwiches/ ESPN.com and several other major sites], the public reaction was immediate and fierce. The banners were pulled after a firestorm of controversy and mocking from the public and various online advertising blogs, with McDonald's executives chalking up the failed campaign to not understanding what the term meant. The "I'd hit it" campaign is now a regular fixture on "worst marketing campaigns of all time" lists.

* In 2005, [[McDonald's]] launched an online viral campaign that was designed to promote the company's "[[Younger and Hipper|younger, hipper]]" image. Using a series of banner images emblazoned with young people eating double cheeseburgers, the ads were meant to convey a more playful attitude (in tandem with the company's well-established "I'm lovin' it" campaign). Sounds good, but during the creation of this campaign the ad agency that oversaw it decided to run with a disquieting slogan — "Double cheeseburger? [[Unfortunate Implications|I'd hit it. I'm a dollar menu guy.]]". Whoever did the copy for that slogan evidently didn't know that "[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I%27d+Hit+it I'd hit it]" was slang for wanting sexual intercourse with another person, and that phrasing, rather than instilling in consumers the desire of going for burgers for dinner, instead conjured up images of [[Cargo Ship|people doing unfortunate acts with sandwiches]]. When the banners appeared on sites like [https://web.archive.org/web/20120722222143/http://andrewteman.org/blog/2005/01/26/mcdonalds-wants-you-to-fck-its-sandwiches/ ESPN.com and several other major sites], the public reaction was immediate and fierce. The banners were pulled after a firestorm of controversy and mocking from the public and various online advertising blogs, with McDonald's executives chalking up the failed campaign to not understanding what the term meant. The "I'd hit it" campaign is now a regular fixture on "worst marketing campaigns of all time" lists.

* Video ads on mobile devices. An idea that is very irritant by itself becomes even more so when you realize that most cellphone companies impose relatively low data caps in their data plans. Seeing how each video ad chomps your 500 MB-per-month plan on 10 by 10 MB for time gets old quite fast.