It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for lists. Here’s AgencySpy’s list of the 10 Worst Broadcast Ads Of 2008. Runner-ups include the Beyonce upgrade commercial for DirectTV (way to cheapen yourself superstar), the Royal Caribbean spots featuring pirates, and the Activa ads featuring Jamie Lee Curtis. Enjoy!
10. The Jerry Seinfeld/ Bill Gates combo makes our top ten list not for the reason you may think (too long, too byzantine in purpose), but because Microsoft and Crispin pulled the ads before anyone could get the punch line. The cost of the series was beyond expensive and you yanked it? Because some bloggers and consumers were confused? Weak. Weak. Weak. You guys had a plan. You should have stuck to it.
9. This Saatchi and Saatchi ad for JC Penney makes me want to shut my laptop in despair. The whole Breakfast Club thing? Listen, let me point out just a few of the ways in which this ad sucks:
I rang up my 14 year old niece to ask her if she knew what the Breakfast Club was. She blanked me. She was like, “Let me Google it real quick. It’s a movie right?” Who is the target here? That said, if you’re going to make that allusion to a bunch of 13 and 15 year-olds, then you best make sure they understand what you are alluding to. Idiots. The remix of the iconic song “Don’t You Forget About Me” from Simple Minds? It sucks. For reals. The whole movie plot crushed into 60 seconds? That idea also royally sucks. If I hadn’t seen the original movie a billion times, it would make zero sense. Even then, this rushed through version has gaping holes in the narrative. Note: I’m using the term narrative very lightly. This is more like a set of Flickr images playing on the slideshow function. The Breakfast Club was genius for its angst, for its translation of the “horror” of being a teen. This is just sugar and Care Bears, which distorts the whole concept. Blech.
8. You’ve got three of the biggest names in sports: Tiger Woods, Roger Federer and Thierry Henry. You’ve also got a well established brand in the men’s grooming category: Gillette. Think of the possibilities! So, what’s with the corny music and cringe worthy creative? The bile full of creative? This thing plays like a second rate colleges ad on cable access. Blah.
7. From KB+P comes these Mohegan Sun spots that make almost everyone I want to know never, ever, ever gamble in their casinos. When we first mentioned the ads, one commenter wrote: “These could destroy the world.” No, but we’re pretty sure that if we ever travel to Connecticut for some gambling, we’ll be going to Foxwoods.
6. Guitar Hero is such an awesome game, so what was with their truly awful celebrity filled spot directed by Brett Ratner? Oh yeah. Brett Ratner. Again, we see three big name celebrities wasted on cheesy creative. DDB is responsible for this hot mess. I don’t even like Tom Cruise, but the way they bastardized his film Risky Business is just down right deplorable.
5. The question is – do you really want to be this guy that Grey slapped up in their E-Trade ad? This is clearly a “dude” who has no life, uses the word “bra” liberally and is so far behind the technology curve even his Mom is embarrassed.
4. McDonald’s decided that it would be a good idea to continue their aggressive push to black people. Yeah, yeah. But, whose idea was it to put an R&B song with some chicken Mcnuggets? Pair that with the whole narrative being about infidelity and I’m almost offended. Sure, you’re so down with with the darker nation that you can poke fun at R&B, the drama of it all? Think not. Oh and – black folks singing about chicken is not cute. Got it?
3. Salesgenie’s 1930s era spot during the Super Bowl spawned legions of press lines and blog mentions. People still talk about it. Oh stupidity and racism. Where would we be without you?
2. The “I’m A PC” spots make the list for one big epic fail of a reason: the celebrities in the spots are known MAC users. It took internet users a mere ten minutes to pull supporting evidence both written and video that Deepak Chopra, Pharrell Williams and Eva Longoria were unabashedly in love with their MACs. Oh Crispin. With all that talent beneath your doors, perhaps you need to hire a researcher or two.
1. By far, the most craptastic ad of 2008 the Toyota “Save By Zero” ad from Saatchi & Saatchi. The spot has inspired legions of haters, Facebook groups and even a letter writing campaign. Aren’t you glad you aren’t the CD on that account?