Marketing Campaign Fails Of 2022
You can have a successful marketing campaign, or you can have one that can fail miserably! Keeping up with the competition is tough; if a brand doesn’t match a customer’s values, it could backfire.
Creativity can get you lost in your vision, and businesses need to spot mistakes right away. This blog will go through the worst marketing campaigns in 2022 and mention a few noteworthy ones so you know what to avoid in your marketing campaign.
There are different techniques to marketing strategies, with more ‘shock’ style posts, that when done correctly can really ramp up engagement, but get it wrong and it can be a disaster! But is all publicity good publicity? Take a look at these campaigns branded as the worst of ’22 and let us know what you think underneath.
HP Windows
Windows and macOS are the two main leading PC systems for a long time, making them
rivals to each other for a long time. However, with the recent marketing campaign, HP Windows
agrees that macOS is the ‘best laptop’.
Their advert displayed their new laptop with a screenshot from macOS. The advertisement was for
‘The Perfect Laptop’ with a screenshot of macOS in the laptop, meaning the perfect laptop is the one that runs macOS.
Someone in the marketing team of HP made a big mistake with Photoshop. The advert states, “For
the digital nomads and work from anywhere but home types (yeah, we see you), HP has perfect
laptops for wherever you’re working from.” While one would have expected a Windows desktop
application on this laptop, they are met with a Gmail inbox screen in Chrome with an Apple logo
prominently displayed in the menu bar.
For the advantage of those who are unaware, Apple’s licensing arrangements have made it
impossible for the macOS platform to run on any PCs other than Macs. On PCs, macOS is installed
and run discretely by the dedicated Hackintosh community. But since HP and Apple don’t work
together, this is merely a small mishap.
Tampax
Image: Yahoo
Tampax has recently tried to follow the trend of funny Tweets like Aldi. However, their Tweet went massively wrong and no one found it funny, and it has gone viral for ‘sexualising’ women. The tampon company’s US arm wrote: “You’re in their DMs. We’re in them. We are not the same.”
The statement “you are in their direct messages,” which refers to communicating romantically online, is followed by the words “I am…”, which typically concludes with a boastful comparison. Instead, it says that I have something better than what you have. More than 46,000 people have shared, and more than 360,000 have liked Tampax’s tweet.
Users weren’t pleased, and Tampax later posted a comment saying, “Refused to let Twitter go down before we released this tweet,” which added fuel to the fire. Thousands of women were advised to stop purchasing Tampax products as the hashtag #BoycottTampax became popular. Many people called the tweet “creepy,” pointing out that girls as young as nine can get periods. In contrast, others criticised the corporation for “alienating” its client base by not using gender-specific pronouns and not specifically referring to women.
Although the Tweet was supposed to be funny and lighthearted, people did not find the Tweet funny and found it quite disturbing. Since the following Tweets, Tampax has apologised.
The Otley Burger Company
Image: Leicestermercury
An advertisement from a Leeds burger establishment that exploited Madeleine McCann’s
photograph to promote the business was banned for offending people.
On March 27, The Otley Burger Company published pictures of Madeleine and Kate McCann on
social media with the caption: “With burgers this good, you’ll leave your kids at home. What’s the
worst that could happen? Happy Mother’s Day to all the mums out there.”
The post was reported as likely to cause serious or extensive offence and distress in three
complaints to the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA). Due to the content causing such concern,
the ASA requested that Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter remove the posts and suspend the
associated accounts.
The Otley Burger Company, which had about 7,000 Instagram followers, informed the disgruntled
users that the advertising had been taken down and wouldn’t show up again. Twitter reported that
the company’s tweet had been removed. Similarly, Meta claimed they had removed the Instagram
post for breaking policies after an examination. A more thorough investigation was conducted on
the Otley Burger Company Instagram account, which resulted in removing additional content and
the imposition of limitations.
The background of the deleted advertisement had a picture of a man jogging while holding a tiny
photo of Madeleine. According to the ASA, this portion of the ad “lightened” Madeleine’s
disappearance and “made light of a sad news item concerning claims of child abduction.”
Therefore, although the company found the Tweet funny and a good way to market their burgers,
most of the audience didn’t agree with their values and failed massively!
Brew Dog
Image: Marketingweek
Brewdog launched an effective campaign before the World Cup in Qatar, claiming that they are the “Anti-sponsor” of what they refer to as the “World F*cup” because of the appalling human rights violations in Qatar.
While it agreed with what they are saying, social media users have not been blind to their hypocrisy in pointing out the corruption in Qatar’s World Cup bid. In contrast, they announced on Instagram that they would use the World Cup to draw more customers to their pubs by broadcasting every game.
Brewdog CEO Watt responded to accusations of hypocrisy made against his business by writing on Twitter, “If a little bit of Twitter hate is the price we have to pay for raising awareness of the human rights in Qatar and the obvious corruption of FIFA, then so be it.”
The audience has seen through the company’s “equal rights” scheme, and it hasn’t changed its mind about showing every World Cup game in its pubs.
Balenciaga
Image: Highsnobiety
The festive ad campaign by Balenciaga, which featured young children holding teddy bears while dressed like bond girls, was discontinued. The hashtag #cancelBalenciaga was trending on Twitter and TikTok in response to the photographs. Many people accused the company and its creative director, Demna, of supporting paedophilia and child exploitation.
A bag from the fashion house’s partnership with Adidas was pictured atop copies of what appear to be court documents from the United States v. Williams case. The documents upheld the PROTECT Act and expanded federal protections against child pornography. This advertisement debuted on November 21 and promoted Balenciaga’s spring/summer 2023 collection. Both initiatives instantly sparked conspiracy theories and were used as talking points by conservatives.
Within a day, the fashion company released two statements via Instagram Stories expressing regret for the “unsettling documents” in the separate spring/summer campaign and the plush bears. They claimed “should not have been featured with children in this campaign.”
Balenciaga is renowned for its unusual advertising and runway displays, including models trudging through snowy conditions and mud while wearing pricey, high-end apparel. However, companies should now consider how they may “shock” their viewers after this campaign was overdone and they faced backlash as a result.
What To Learn From Bad Marketing Campaigns
We can take away one thing from all these marketing blunders: campaigns must be carefully planned. It would be best if you ensured that your intended message is received clearly throughout your efforts.
Any company or brand can benefit greatly from going viral or becoming a meme, but only if you do it for the right reasons.
The greatest approach to ensure your marketing strategy’s success is careful planning and innovative concepts. All of these issues can be resolved with Interact! So speak with us immediately to prevent failure in your marketing efforts.