The Worst Super Bowl Ads of All Time – Lessons for Marketers
The Super Bowl is the mecca of advertising – a chance for brands to get their message in front of over 100 million viewers. With 30-second slots costing upwards of $7 million in recent years, the stakes are high to create a memorable ad that resonates.
While some Super Bowl commercials become iconic, entering the pop culture zeitgeist, others fall flat on their face. At best, a bad ad is simply forgotten. At worst, it can damage the brand‘s reputation and turn off potential customers.
So what separates a winning ad from a total fumble? Let‘s examine some of the biggest Super Bowl commercial blunders of all time and extract valuable lessons that all marketers can apply to their campaigns, whether or not they can afford a multimillion-dollar ad slot.
The Recipe for a Super Bowl Ad Flop
Before we dive into the Hall of Shame, let‘s look at the common ingredients that cause a Super Bowl spot to flop:
Offensiveness. Ads that are perceived as insensitive, racist, sexist, or otherwise offensive can spark viewer backlash. Even if the intent wasn‘t to offend, not fully considering the context and connotations of the ad‘s content is a major risk.
Confusing Messaging. If viewers are left scratching their heads wondering what the ad was even about or advertising, it‘s a wasted opportunity. Clarity is key.
Irritating. Grating jingles, nonsensical premises, or ads that air way too frequently can annoy viewers, leading to negative associations with the brand.
Of course, some ads check all three boxes. Now let‘s count down some of the most egregious examples, in no particular order.
The 10 Worst Super Bowl Ads Ever
1. Nationwide‘s "Make Safe Happen" (2015)
This one really killed the mood. The ad featured a young boy lamenting all the life milestones he‘ll miss out on. Why? Because he died in a preventable accident. The dark, depressing tone promoting Nationwide‘s insurance felt exploitative and blindsided viewers expecting the typical lighthearted fare.
"This was the most morbid commercial in Super Bowl history… It was just an enormous miscalculation." – USA Today Sports media reporter Chris Chase
2. Pepsi‘s Kendall Jenner "Live For Now" (2017)
This tone-deaf ad showed Kendall Jenner joining a nondescript street protest and defusing tensions by handing a police officer a Pepsi. Critics blasted it for co-opting and trivializing the imagery of social justice movements like Black Lives Matter to sell soda.
3. Groupon‘s Tibet (2011)
This ad made light of the plight of Tibetan people, using their struggles as a lead-in for advertising a deal on Tibetan food via Groupon. It came across as flippant and outright insensitive to a serious geopolitical issue. Groupon pulled the ad and issued an apology after intense backlash.
4. Just For Feet‘s "Kenya Mission" (1999)
Widely regarded as one of the most racist Super Bowl ads ever, this spot for the now-defunct shoe retailer featured a barefoot Kenyan runner being hunted down by white men in a Humvee, who give him a cup of drugged water and then force a pair of shoes on his feet while he‘s unconscious. Shockingly ill-conceived from start to finish.
5. GoDaddy‘s "Perfect Match" (2013)
GoDaddy‘s Super Bowl spots were notorious for pushing the boundaries of good taste, but this one went too far. The ad‘s central visual of a prolonged, close-up kiss between a supermodel and a nerdy guy to illustrate GoDaddy‘s "smart meets sexy" tagline was just plain uncomfortable to watch.
6. GM‘s Suicidal Robot (2007)
What could have been a fun, sci-fi inspired ad took an unexpectedly dark turn. After "malfunctioning," the assembly line robot is depicted losing its job, being shunned as it tries to find other work, and ultimately jumping off a bridge in despair, before waking up from the "nightmare." The spot made light of suicide and came across as insensitive, especially since it aired amidst GM lay-offs.
7. Salesgenie‘s Pandas (2008)
Salesgenie, a now-defunct sales lead service, decided a great way to promote their product was with badly animated pandas speaking in cringe-worthy, broken English. The blatant racial stereotyping sparked an outcry from Asian-American groups. Not only was it offensive, but the concept had zero connection to what was being advertised.
8. Cure Auto Insurance‘s "Hangover" (2015)
Two years after establishing a positive brand identity with their "keys in the fridge" spot, Cure Auto Insurance squandered that goodwill with an ad trivializing statutory rape. It featured a teenage girl waking up with a grown man after a night of partying. The backlash was swift and severe.
9. Dodge Ram‘s MLK (2018)
Dodge celebrated 50 years of its Ram trucks with an ad using audio from a Martin Luther King Jr. speech about the value of service. While superficially inspirational, many viewers found it crass to use the words of the civil rights icon to sell vehicles. It came across as a cynical attempt to capitalize on Dr. King‘s legacy.
10. Temu‘s Overexposed Debut (2023)
E-commerce company Temu took a spray-and-pray approach with their Super Bowl debut, airing their obnoxiously peppy jingle no less than four times during the game. By the fourth airing, viewers were openly expressing their irritation on social media. A good ad wore out its welcome by playing way too frequently.
Lessons For Creating Super Bowl Ads That Win
So what can marketers learn from these cautionary tales? Here are some key takeaways:
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Always consider context and connotations. Could your ad‘s creative concept, or elements within it, be perceived as insensitive or offensive to any group? Does the tone fit the product and the occasion? If there‘s any doubt, rethink it.
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Keep your message simple and on-brand. Stick to one clear message that viewers will remember. Resist the urge to cram in too many ideas. And most importantly, make sure your creative concept connects to your brand and product.
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Don‘t repeat your ad too frequently. Seeing the same commercial multiple times in a short span gets old fast, no matter how catchy or clever it is. One or two airings is plenty.
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Aim to entertain and connect emotionally. The most beloved Super Bowl ads tell a story and evoke positive feelings – humor, inspiration, sentimentality. Negative emotions like shock value or making viewers uncomfortable rarely work in your favor.
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Test your ad with focus groups before unleashing it on a massive audience. Get feedback from a diverse range of people outside your company. You may spot red flags you missed.
Crafting a Super Bowl Ad Hall of Famer
For every flop, there are numerous examples of Super Bowl ad excellence. Brands like Apple, Budweiser, and Old Spice have created enduring ads that won both creative plaudits and consumer affection.
What do these advertising touchdowns have in common? They elicit positive emotions, have a clear and memorable message, and ultimately showcase how the product improves people‘s lives. The humor or storyline serves the brand, not the other way around.
Here are a few examples:
- Apple‘s groundbreaking "1984" ad announcing the Macintosh
- Budweiser‘s "Puppy Love," a sequel to their popular Clydesdale and puppy story
- Old Spice‘s "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" absurdist humor
- Google‘s poignant "Loretta" featuring an elderly man using the Google Assistant to remember his late wife
Notice that these ads barely mention the product features, if at all. Instead, they find a creative way to capture the brand ethos and connect it to an emotional hook – individuality, friendship, confidence, love.
Applying These Principles to Your Own Marketing
Even if a Super Bowl ad is out of your budget, you can still use these best practices to level up your marketing content:
- Always ask how your creative concepts will be perceived by different audiences
- Strive for clear, focused messaging that ladders up to your brand
- Look for ways to entertain and spark positive emotions
- Showcase how you improve customers‘ lives, not just your product specs
- Test your content with people outside your bubble and integrate their feedback
The bar is higher than ever for marketers to earn consumers‘ attention and affection. As the worst Super Bowl ads show, even the biggest brands can bungle it. But by learning from their mistakes and emulating the principles behind the best ads, marketers of all stripes can create winning plays.
