People Break Down The Worst Corporate Marketing And PR Disasters Ever
Reddit user LeatherFruitPF asked: 'What are some of the worst corporate blunders or PR disasters in history?'
Some of us are more comfortable with advertisements, commercials, and sponsored content that we see on television and social media, but we can all agree that there is some truly cringey content out there.
But there have been some completely side-eye-worthy blunders that have happened at the corporate level that earned a company or product more attention than their marketing ever could, cringey or not.
Redditor LeatherFruitPF asked:
"What are some of the worst corporate blunders or PR (Public Relations) disasters in history?"
Gerard Ratner's Jewelry Woes
"Gerald Ratner called his own company’s (jeweler) products 'crap' and said that, 'a prawn sandwich would last longer' than their earrings at a conference."
"The company’s value fell by 500 million euros, and he had to resign."
- Onion_Heart
Bringing Back Spam
"Back in the 90s, Hormel Foods went on a Cease and Desist spree against anyone who was making jokes about Spam because they felt the brand had been damaged and needed to be rebuilt."
"The last straw was when they threatened to sue Jim Henson Studios over the character Spa'am in 'Muppet Treasure Island.' That turned people against them pretty quickly. It turns out that if you want to rebuild your brand in the public eye, suing one of the most beloved entertainment franchises of two generations was a bad way to go about it."
"Eventually, they dropped all the cease and desist stuff and changed their marketing strategy, instead deciding to lean into it and proclaiming that there are always going to be jokes about Spam, so they might as well be in on them."
- weirdoldhobo1978
Complacency Over Competitiveness
"Blackberry thinking that they are the top in the mobile market so they didn't need to innovate to compete with those new iPhone things from Apple."
- TechyDad
Poor Translations
"Supposedly years ago, there was a Pepsi slogan, 'Come Alive with Pepsi,' that was mistranslated in Chinese as, 'Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back from the Dead.'"
- xain_the_id**t
Not Welcome in Canada
"Target's expansion into Canada. It collapsed in two years and cost seven billion dollars."
- USSMarauder
"I still remember how annoyed my town was when our Zellers (what Canada had before Target) was closed down because Target was rolling into Canada. In the time it took for them to renovate the two-story mall location and convert it to a Target, THEY PULLED OUT OF CANADA."
"So for about a year, we lost our only Zellers location and we didn't even get a chance to experience it as a Target because they went t*ts up before it had a chance to open."
- sillyslambo
The Thing That Could Have Given Them an Edge...
"Sears dominated the mail order industry for over a century with their catalog. In 1993, they decided that mail order was on the decline and discontinued the catalog. Less than a year later, Jeff Bezos would found Amazon."
- BlueRFR3100
The Osborne Effect
"Have you heard of the Osborne Effect?"
"The company in 1981 had one of the first home computers on the market, it sounded fantastic and everything. At the launch, CEO said the next version will be so much better... So everyone decided, Why buy this version if the next version will be better? We'll wait for V2."
"So V1 sold terribly, the company folded, and there was no V2."
- BIllyBrooks
If Kodak Could See the Internet Now...
"Kodak shunning digital photography... Yeah..."
- uvaspina1
Inappropriate Trends
"Digiorno trying to make the hashtag 'Why I Stayed' be about making pizza at home."
- Kira82
"Reminds me of the whole Bud Light 'Up For Whatever' fiasco."
- The_ChwatBot
The 349 Incident
"The Pepsi Number Fever promotion in the Philippines went really terribly! They basically never recovered in the market there. It’s really interesting actually!"
- Londonbreakdown
"'Pepsi Number Fever, also known as the 349 incident, was a promotion held by PepsiCo in the Philippines in 1992, which led to riots and the deaths of at least five people.'"
"That's the first sentence, oh my god, I don't know why this is so funny to me but I'm going to h**l."
- onaraynaafternoon
Who is Max?
"Here’s one happening right now: HBO is rebranding as 'Max.'"
"HBO is a premium brand with decades of quality programming behind it."
"Max is generic, vague, and makes me think of softcore."
- watchingsongsDL
"It makes me think of Cinemax more than HBO, which, what?"
- EverywhereINowhere
Hoover Flights
"I can't believe the Hoover flights to America promotion from the early '90s hasn't come up yet."
"They offered a pair of return flights to America worth £600 if you spent £100 or more on their stuff."
"As it turned out, people thought £100 for a return flight with a free vacuum cleaner was a h**l of a deal, and it was a disaster that cost the company millions."
- Tim6181
Empty Promises
"Celebrities singing 'Imagine' at the beginning of the pandemic."
- KickMinaj
"'We're all in this together,' said by some idiot celebrities in their multi-million dollar mansions."
- eddyathome
Wizards of the Coast
"'Wizards of the Coast' and the open gaming license earlier this year."
"Worst handling I've seen. Literally caused dozens if not hundreds of companies to pull away from creating content for the company to making new games that will directly compete with them while alienating their fans at the same time."
- Konocti
Embrace the Tech
"Nokia, once the biggest phone company in the world, failed to move with the times and switch to Android/smartphones."
- bent_eye
It's crazy to think of how successful and large some of these companies once were before serious corporate blunders, or how hard they've had to work to come back from those blunders.
It just goes to show that some mistakes have a way of sticking around and make it really hard for people to move on.
No joke, I will never forget the old Sock'em Boppers commercials. I am well past the age group that plays with these things but that theme song is often in my head. What can I say? I watched a ton of TV as a kid and saw that commercial a million times.
They're now known as Socker Boppers and it's just not the same. Remember that video jingle, "it's more fun than a pillow fight?" Those were the days. Alas, everything good must end.
There are a host of other commercials that have left an impression on people. These people shared their thoughts with us after Redditor No-Caterpillar4212 asked the online community,
"What's a commercial you'll never forget?"
"I still giggle..."
"I still giggle at the LifeAlert "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercials. They even have a newer batch of them out."
MisterFives
There's a criminal in my house!
Classic.
"Mr. Owl..."
"Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?"
TabithaTwitchet
The world may never know.
"I tried to collect..."
"Yo quiero Taco Bell!"
"I tried to collect all those stuffed Taco Bell dogs they did in promotion around this time. I had almost all of them, but never got my favourite one, with the military hat that says, "Viva gordita!""
F22Android
I remember those! There were so many. I swear, I had at least one or two but they've now been lost to time.
"This is your brain."
"The "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs" egg commercial."
[deleted]
Oh, but remember the old Rachel Leigh Cook commercial where she destroyed the entire kitchen and not just the egg?
"The dancing old man..."
"The dancing old man from the Six Flags commercials."
DizzyLurking
Now this one really takes me back.
The Venga bus is coming!!!
And everybody's jumping!!!
"That mid 2000s..."
"That mid 2000s Chef Boyardee commercial where the can follows the family and rolls home with them."
Greb-Grebberson
You mean the one where the can is clearly stalking the family and people are too shy to say otherwise?
At least that's how I like to play it out in my head.
"The Wilford Brimley..."
"The Wilford Brimley diabeetus commercial."
rntopspin100
At this point, diabetes should just be called Wilford Brimley syndrome.
"The Budweiser..."
"The Budweiser Wassup Commercial refuses to exit my brain to this day."
Humblebee89
WAZZZUUUUUPPP!? Any kids watching Scary Movie will not understand that reference in the movie sadly.
"Five eight eiiight, two-three hundred... ...Empiiiiire!"
[deleted]
Today!
Good choice. This one is always living rent-free inside my head.
"My bologna has a first name. It's O-s-c-a-r. My bologna has a second name. It's M-a-y-e-r. Oh, I love to eat it every day and if you ask my why, I'll say. Cuz Oscar Mayer has a way with b-o-l-o-g-n-a."
PianoOk6786
This commercial is likely singlehandedly responsible for teaching children how to spell "bologna."
Apologies if you now have relentless commercial jingles rattling inside your brain right now. You should have known we'd awake some long buried childhood memories!
Have some commercials you remember? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
Even those of us who lived through it might forget how terrible it was to have our shows decided by someone else, thousands of miles away. When you had to sit, and wait, for the show that was on to end so you could finally watch the one you want.
I think Hell might be like that.
These people, on the other hand, had a much more sinister idea for what everyone is forced to watch down below.
Reddit user, CharmingWitty, wanted to know what you're forced to watch every day in the afterlife of misery when they asked:
"You’re in Hell. What’s on TV?"
Why do advertisers think they're commercials are good? They're not. We tolerate them. We don't actively enjoy them.
So imagine watching the worst of the worst when you're downstairs.
I Will Remember You
"That commercial with Sarah McLaughlin music and the neglected and abused and abandoned animals."
ArmyOfDog
Buy. Our. Stuff.
"Commercials and nothing else"
Kneejerk_Nihilist
"So the shopping channel? lol"
Hufflepuff20
"Selling only one thing - possibly slapchop. As a plus there's slap chop billboards everywhere, just in case you get the bright idea of switching the TV off and going for a walk."
vijjer
Holy Forking Shirtballs
"The Kars 4 Kids commercial on a constant loop."
Patches765
"That's the theme song for The Bad Place!"
grae23
It's not hard to imagine what's on television in hell because as it turns out, a lot of that stuff is already on as we speak.
All The Good Stuff Is Taken Out
"Whatever it is, it’s the edited for TV version."
TheNumberMuncher
"Yippie Kay yay, mister falcon."
Justjeskuh
“Im sick of these monkey fighting snakes on this Monday to Friday plane” - Samuel L Jackson brought to you by TNT.
Hammsamitch
The Internet Was A Mistake
"Staged tik tok videos"
fit-to-burn
"...that say wait till the end."
VixxiV
"All of them have the oh no song"
theincrediblebou
How Does This Work With Them Supposedly Being On Opposite Sides?
"TV preachers."
wulfpacker1
"Wouldn’t they be doing live shows in hell?"
asianpeterson
See?
"Politics fighting over not important shit and avoiding serious matters"
hady215
"Hey look, we’re already in hell."
Ckmyers
It is Hell, after all. Maybe the Devil will get a little creative with your punishment.
Up Next...
"America’s funniest home videos, except all the videos are all the times you’ve embarrassed yourself in front of people and it’s hosted by Andrew Dice Clay so none of it is funny"
santichrist
*copy, paste, apply to any sitcom
"Big bang theory, but whenever someone talks it's just their shitty laughing tracks"
AbaHugME
"Or worse. The laugh track is removed leaving long eerie silences after bad jokes"
Shotgun_Rynoplasty
Just Nothing Happening. For Forever.
"A tv show about a guy trying to connect to the internet through a dial-up modem, but the connection never happens and you just constantly hear the dial-up tones and noises. Probably has a really sh-tty, but catchy tune as well that gets stuck in your head as Satan takes you to the fire pits"
Frodo_noooo
Wait, THEY Got To Go?
"Endless keeping up with the Kardashians."
MasterpiecePositive4
"Special hell edition: Shows about the Kardashians' life in heaven."
tecg
Let's all try to be a little nicer to one another. How about that?
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Ordep333When my middle child was 4, we got into a minor car accident. From the back seat she calmly asked if we had been in a car accident. When I confirmed she nodded knowingly and said
"When you've been in an accident dial 911, then call 411 for 1 800 411 PAIN. 411 PAIN, call 911 then call 411."
It was like watching a little robot recite a bit of programming she didn't know she had. That moment absolutely confirmed that those annoyingly repetitive commercials stick in your head.
One Reddit user asked:
What's the most annoying and repetitive commercial you've ever seen on TV?
And yeah, these people absolutely remember the companies - but it maybe didn't work out the way advertisers had hoped. Most people who responded seemed to have a strange lingering hatred for the company and a refusal to use them.
I certainly didn't call 411 PAIN.
Buried in the comments we found gold - a plot between two Reddit users (one of whom happens to live near the CEO of a hated company) so deliver a strongly worded letter about how much their jingles and commercials suck!
But Where Do I Apply?
Head on, apply directly to the forehead
Head on!
- Zubbs99
Apply directly to the forehead!
It was literally just wax they told you to rub on your forehead. It had no medical effect. The only way it was legal was they didn't actually specify what it did when you rubbed it on your forehead, just that you should. The original ads did say that it was for headaches, but the gov't shut that down.
No Effort From Empire
Not sure how "national" it was, but there's this carpeting company "Empire Today" that had this really annoying commercial.
it just went (singing) "Eight hundred, five eight eight, two three hundred, empire (voiceover):Today"
It was on all the time. I think that really annoyed me about it was that they didn't even try to come up with theme song, they just sang their phone number. It doesn't rhyme or anything. It's not even that memorable.
I had to google "annoying carpet commercial." But once I saw "Empire" I remembered the tune, not the exact number, but the melody.
And, if I need flooring done, I'm just googling "flooring companies near me".
- teke367
877 Cash When?
gordon ramsay fox GIF by MasterChef JuniorGiphyCall j g went worth 877 cash now!!!
🎶I have a structured settlement but I need cash nooooowwwwww🎶
IF YOU HAVE AN ANNUITY BUT YOU NEED CASH NOOOOOOW
My dad had a structured settlement that paid 15k a year til death. When he was about 55 years old he called jg Wentworth just out of curiosity. They offered him 30k.....
He did eventually settle with the employer a few years later for a lump sum of about 250k.
Jake
Why the f*ck is Jake from State Farm relevant again? That commercial was like 10 years ago and now he's the face of the company like hes some dude that I'm supposed to trust.
- MLWcaleb
Jake ruined a marriage. I want nothing to do with that home wrecker.
- CaptainMcAnus
"That F*cking Limu"
Liberty Mutual Insurance's "LiMu Emu" commercials. I will never use that insurance company specifically because these commercials are so bad.
I swear 2/3 of the YouTube ads I see are about that f*cking limu. I WILL NEVER USE LIBERTY MUTUAL BECAUSE I'M SO F*CKING SICK OF THOSE ADS.
/rant
I have to agree! LiMu Emu is the WORST!
- Chooky54
Late Night Earworm
I don't know if I'd call it annoying, but the Education Connection song from ~10 years ago is a hell of an earworm.
Always. Always at like 1:30AM, every night, every Adult Swim commercial break. Drove me insane then but it's kind of a nice nostalgia boost now though.
That ad drove my Mom nuts when she watched That 70's Show late at night on The N/Teen Nick. I saw it a lot during Degrassi, too.
- lady-ki
OMG you are truly EVIL! I couldn't even get thru that commercial because I was almost instantly annoyed!
Grow Up
baby do not want GIFGiphyAttention parents and grandparents of young children, Gerber life is accepting applications for the affordable grow up plan. The grow up plan gives your child 10,000 dollars in whole life insurance protection now, then doubles automatically to 20,000 dollars later at no extra cost, start now for just pennies a day
I just had PTSD reading this.
Honestly, those ads freaked me the f*ck out. Who insures a baby? (Cue intro to a show on Investigation Discovery.)
The Pink Stuff
Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea~
Nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach, diarrhea~
sing that in a western accent.
Every time I see this commercial, I think, "somewhere out there is a guy who is so excited to tell his family that he got his 'big break' and called his grandma to tell her he is the 'diarrhea guy!'"
Service Unavailable
I randomly have the 'Stanley Steemer's commercial jingles pop up in my head. I don't even have one in my country >:/
F*ck you Stanley Steemer.
LOOL Im the CEO's neighbor he has a Stanley Steemer van in his driveway right now!
Do you mind dropping an envelope with some of my opinions about his goddamn jingle into his mailbox?
Sure, Ill stick one through the open window of the van too.
Awesome, I finally get to vent my built-up decade-long hate for the Stanley Steamer jingle.
You have no idea how liberating this is for me and all those who had to endure the jingle and never have their carpets thoroughly cleaned.
This is actually very cathartic.
Ahem
Dear Mr. "Stanley Steemer", This will be the last package I ever send your @ss. I can't believe you've done this. I used to hear your jingle from all the way in Canada and it filled me with hope, wonder and anticipation. There's no denying the jingle is a masterpiece the likes of Mozart or Bach, but let's not pretend like weaponizing it on unsuspecting viewers who cannot ever have their carpet steemed isn't a war crime.
I wondered how I could have my carpets cleaned at a young age, and in each stage of my life there was that jingle "Stanley Steemer, your certified cleaner". I honestly have no f*cking idea what that even means, even today as a man. What are you certified for? Soap and water? Is it a ruse? Are you guys even insured!? A line so vague it could mean anything, but alas it had a catchy tune.
Life went on, yet there it was. Staring me in the face like a piping hot, steaming - "Stanley Steemer makes your home cleaner!". Firstly, wow. The skill involved in creating such a simple yet effective rhyme, could move Beethoven to tears... If he wasn't deaf. I digress, I think it's time we put this all to rest. For the love of God, take down the commercial. For the sanity or those who happen to have a channel package which for some reason features local commercials and have lifelong PTSD and have spent years in therapy trying to forget. From one Stan to another, take it down. I'll be the biggest fan you'll ever lose.
Sincerely yours, Stan
P.S. we should be together too
The Opposite Of Feel-Good TV
No one will know this. There was a commercial for Kinder Family here in germany. Kinder are the guys who make the surprise eggs.
It was supposed to be these short 15 second skits that rotate every week or so. You could watch them online even.
I have not seen anything that was as unfunny as that before or since. It was like everytime you watch one you cringed so hard it would hurt. I felt awful after watching each and every one of them.
Double Shot Of Jersey Shore
My family watches a lot of Ridiculousness, and MTV is going back through their Jersey Shore cast catalog and making shows with Pauly D and Vinny again. The Double Shot of Love commercials are full of "yeah buddy" and "yas".
So those.
Lelly Kelly
You definitely won't remember this if you weren't English and born in the 2000's. But if you were, then Llelly Kelly's were ingrained into your mind because whenever you watched Cartoon Network or Disney channel they were there.
Lelly Kelly's, the coolest shoes, lelly Kelly's they are so cool, oh wow
So Loud
Mesothelioma.
I know it's important. I also know commercials are louder because people tend to walk away, but god damn. You play that thing so much I feel like I got the disease!
- Scoobity
A Quest For Silence
Never actually 'seen' it, but certainly heard it more times than anyone should have.
"What am I doing tonight? I'm calling Quest!"
Like Holy Hand grenades I don't give a sh*t what you do or who you call, lady. If I hear you advertise your stupid phone sex line one more time I swear to god I will literally implode.
I work as a security guard in a hospital over night, and spend 8 hours a day just outside a patients room. He leaves the T.V. on all night and I swear there are only 2 commercials that run on whatever shitty tv network he watches.
We would love silence but instead we get a TV blasting about the phone sex hotline ... and some stupid lady saying "They are some of the hottest videos on the internet, those videos showing you how to get rid of those bags under your eyes..."
It's the Quest phone sex one that I hate the most though.
Sorry, Shirley
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- Ordep333
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