Most stupid, bad and controversial ads and commercials are handpicked for this review. Most of them either produced a lot of buzz and went viral or were banned. Lack of creativity, bad implementation or just awful idea, there’s tens of reasons why these ads and commercials have appeared. While there’s tons of post for people looking for inspiration, I decided to do completely opposite. Sometimes the best way to learn is to see how NOT to do something. If I missed your favorite stupid or bad ad, please add it in the comments. Enjoy!
Dancing Pope Ad
A nightclub leaflet showing the late Pope John Paul II holding a bottle of beer and dancing with a blonde woman has been banned.
O M G I G P Internet Explorer 8 Puke Vomit Girl
The most disgusting ad in a series of stupid Microsoft’s ads for Internet Explorer 8.
Google Pays me $150/Hour
‘Google has blessed me with a $5000 a month at home job. Anyone is eligible.’ Internet ad spotted in the wild.
Salem Oregon Shopper Ads: Mike’s Stupid Cb Shop
Stupid ad of guy making repainting which leads to stupid website and stupid gallery. Literally!
People In Newspaper Ads Who Look Like They’re Farting
A gallery of newspaper ads with people looking stupid and odd.
DirectTV Chile: Villains in Christmas.
“Some are good only at Christmas. DirectTV is good all year”. Even the most evil characters get together to spread love in Christmas!
The Hours ad on the eve of Oscar season
‘A woman’s whole life… in a single day…Just one day, and in that day, her whole life’ Sounds smart or stupid?
McDonald’s iced plastic coffee as product placement
Fox TV news anchors enjoy two plastic cups permanently filled with some kind of bogus drink.
Movie “Rules of Attraction” poster
Poster from series World’s Raciest Ads, it was banned in America for using stuffed animals to turn on a nation of plushy fetishists.
Be the Root poster.
It’s a poster for Evergreen, a Canadian nonprofit that promotes “deepening the connection between people and nature.”
Montana Meth Project
Multiple stupid ads revealing the severe physical and psychological impacts associated with Meth use. Instead of reducing meth use it could even be making the drug more acceptable.
I cannot believe you don’t have life insurance
The image of angry boy went viral as another example of stupid ads not working but making a lot of fun.
Speed bump
This video has a mixture of Germans, mad scientists and speed bumps to make perfect stupid ad.
Unfortunately placed ads
If you put together anti-obesity and fast food ads that’s making an excellent stupid combination.
Human puppet
One more stupid anti-drug commercial which instead of showing horrible things connected with drugs makes a lot of fun of it.
Travelers Insurance: “To catch a geek, you have to think like a geek.”
Offensive and stupid magazine ad with the implication that geeks are somehow a threat and that’s why you need to buy their insurance.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Guerilla Marketing
The discovery of a series of suspicious objects (stupid guerilla campaign) in crowded public places have set off a wave of bomb scares across Boston, snarling traffic and subways across the city.
Brazilian Institute for Oriental Studies
Winner of Phallic Logo Awards is a very serious institution but its logo is more than bad and stupid.
Zooppa croudsourced ads
People powered brand energy on Zooppa often fail, check out for more stupid ads and commercials.
Too Civilized for Coffee?
Todd & Holland Tea Merchants Stupid Ad with implication that everyone who drinks coffee is not civilized.
iPod and kids deaths
One more stupid print ad with intention to depict teenagers dying as a result of listening to iPods whilst they cross the road.
Bad and stupid anti-smoking ad from New Zealand group ASH
Don’t use 9/11 as an advertising tool. Not even for a good cause, like this anti-tobacco ad.
The best ad ever made on anti-smoking
This ad made by Indian Cancer Association turns to be actually promoting smoking (watch till the end).
Anti douchebag collar clips
What is advertised? If you decided that its collar clips you’re wrong, it’s Miller beer.
Whiz Biz: Morning after
Stupid ad with bad idea and direction but at least sexy model. BTW, if you don’t get that it’s ad for hygiene products.
Mexico reconquers California with help of Absolut vodka
The offensive stupid billboard ad for Absolut vodka is a colorful map depicting the whole of California as still part of Mexican territory.
Just opened, near Kimaya Kothrud
Will you go after this badly photoshopped ad to McDonald’s to see some creepy clown baby?
The Ellen Feis Apple switch advert
A few moments in the life of one girl who lost her school work to a crashing computer. Why the hell she didn’t press Ctrl+S more often?
Obay fake pills ads
A teaser ad of fake pills were spread in Toronto to make parents realize that forcefully making students do something is wrong.
Trojan oinks up men pigs ad
This stupid ad features a bunch of attractive women unhappily surrounded by a group of pigs. The women try their best to ignore the pigs’ pick-up lines, until one buys a condom.
How Not to Advertise on the Internet
As this blog post explains online game ads can go just nuts.
Sony PSP White is Coming ad campaign
One ad from the campaign shows the white woman gripping the black woman’s face in a dominant gesture.
Twix Offers Interactive Date-rape Tutorial
Twix ad campaign “When you need a moment to chew it over” suggest that men are either too stupid to think of the proper things to say, or they are manipulative jerks who need twix-time to plan their next lie.
Stamford Hotel ad
This stupid ad makes completely opposite effect as intended to attract new hotel visitors.
Pregnant Boys in Milwaukee
If a man gets pregnant, it should be a lot of fun but unlike Junior movie with Schwarzenegger this teenagers get pregnant ads look just stupid.
Funny, Stupid, and Banned Commercials
Part 8 of stupid, funny and banned commercials compilation. Definitely must see!
Lotto ad
Embarrassing Dude following couple everywhere ad doesn’t make other impression as a lot of fun.
iRobot Roomba TV commercial
According to iRobot’s new advertising for its adorable little auto-vac, Mom is in charge of cleaning up after her pig children and jackass husband.
Mr. T Speedwalker Snickers Ad
A British commercial for a chocolate bar featuring The A Team star Mr. T has been pulled over concerns it could cause offence to homosexuals.
Fosters chilled
Keep the beer chilled in the shadow of big boobs, isn’t it stupid?
Flat Buns Carl’s Jr. Commercial
Ad features a teacher shaking her booty in front of a classroom of ogling, pubescent white boys rapping about how they like “flat buns” while their teacher bumps and grinds.
Coca-Cola: The Great Escape
Nonsense student film like ad promoting Coke for homeless people.
It’s 30 for a reason road safety advert
Uk road safety advert from 2000s highlighting the ‘It’s 30 for a reason’ message. A little girl explains that if she’s hit by a car at 40mph there’s an 80 per cent chance she’ll die. If hit at 30mph there’s an 80 per cent chance she’ll live.
Microsoft in Poland ad: Asians Ok, Blacks Maybe Not
Microsoft has removed the head of the black man for the Polish version and photoshopped in a white guy’s head instead.
Dust Jeans: Let’s Hold Hands
Badly photoshopped ad looks like guy is carrying around somebody’s severed hand.
Paradise Lakes Resort G-string contest ad
A clothing-optional retreat in Florida has had its membership in the American Association for Nude Recreation suspended over “sexualizing the nudist experience.”
Coors Light Beer advertising ‘Colder than people from Toronto’
Ad in British Columbia which pokes fun at Toronto was taken down after numerous complaints.
Tom Ford fragrance ad
One of the 34 Advert Graveyard banned ads (check out everything!).
Panasonic Viera’s He Didn’t See That Coming
Wannabe viral but low-production, badly acted commercial for Panasonic Viera’s fail.
Bonus
How much advertisers are paying for your attention?
The 5 Most Annoying Banner Ads On The Internet
The Ten Worst Ads on MySpace
13 Insanely Horrible Local TV Ads
Scary Nike Running Commercial, one of the 5 scariest adverts
Update
Ryan submitted this Lifecover insurance company ad which was rejected from a number of local Canadian newspapers.
Want more of this? See these posts:
So funny! I laughed so much on Unfortunately placed ads, Brazilian Institute for Oriental Studies,The Ellen Feis Apple switch advert, The best ad ever made on anti-smoking.
Thanks for this post, I had fun
Re the Stamford Hotel ad – you obviously have no idea about irony or humour in ads. Or maybe the Australian humour doesn’t translate.
I used to work for that hotel chain – that video has generated over 1.7M hits on You tube (not up there with the wedding entrance dance, but still pretty respectable) and was the reason about 80% of people decided to book the package.
Plus – that advert was never produced for broadcast.
Nice work! Great post that gave me a few laughs
Haha, these are some pretty funny ads. I took a picture of a funny ad in U.S. bank, where a ’smart’ guy gets hit in the face with a golf club by a blonde. Then, it says if you’re smart, you’ll get the banks credit card. Here is the ad.
Its creativity we have to fear the most in sales and marketing as this just goes to prove.
Bad TV ad: All Free & Clear Detergent shows woman leaving a toddler on top of dryer while she grabs a basket of laundry and leaves the room. Where is common sense and good judgement?
I agree these stupid, bad and controversial ads and commercials.
How about some scandalous Commercials and ads?