For advertisers going for that viral-TV-ad success, one of the easiest ways is to hit
a controversial nerve.
But it's not always easy to court controversy without a backlash to go along with it.
Here are some TV commercials that pushed the envelope way too far.
Pepsi
Pepsi pulled it's confusing and offensive 2017 "social justice, Kendall Jenner modeling
montage" after getting a collective internet pass.
Critics of the ad say it made millennials into - "self absorbed social justice warriors,
while minimizing the important social movements that have dominated headlines.
The ad was a terrible miscalculation of how people would interpret what Pepsi called,
a "global message of unity, peace and understanding."
The company may have been going for something like this…
"Put a Pepsi in motion, and that choice is up to you, hey hey.
You're the Pepsi generation."
What they got instead was tone deaf, insensitive, and, in a word, insane.
"So the whole thing is sort of an homage to the Black Lives Matter movement.."
"Don't.
Touch it?
It'd be insane to touch it.
Right, Okay."
But that wasn't the first time that Pepsi made a major advertising misstep.
Mountain Dew
Way back in 2013, Mountain Dew parent company, PepsiCo, made another misstep when they hired
then-22-year-old rapper, "Tyler the Creator", to develop a series of commercials for the
beverage.
This spot featured a police lineup in which a goat confronts a waitress he beat up in
a previous commercial.
According to Rolling Stone the scene was perceived as "a perpetuation of racial stereotypes and
a downplaying of violence against women."
According to Adweek, social commentator Dr. Boyce Watkins labeled the ad "arguably the
most racist commercial in history."
In response, Tyler the Creator told Billboard that "there's no type of hate being portrayed
in that work of art at all.
It's just a goat.
I just think a goat is funny.
It's no deeper meaning."
Well, it wouldn't be the weirdest animal to do the Dew:
"Puppy."
"Monkey."
"Baby."
GoDaddy
Web-hosting company GoDaddy's Super Bowl ads were always kind of controversial for obvious
reasons…
"Go Daddy"
...but the company never had to pull one until 2015.
In the ad, a lost puppy finds its way home to an overjoyed owner who immediately reveals
that she sold the puppy on her new GoDaddy website.
The pup is promptly boxed up and shipped away.
And animal rights activists were not feelin' the "puppy mill, anti-adoption" vibe.
According to USA Today, a Change.org petition convinced GoDaddy not to air the spot, even
though GoDaddy assured that "Buddy [the dog in the ad] came to us from a reputable and
loving breeder in California."
Still, the ASPCA was wary to endorse a for-profit puppy situation, even in a commercial.
Motrin
Motrin's 2008 ad, which suggested that strapping a heavy baby to the front of one's body could
result in neck or back pain, looked pretty tame at first.
But the ad contained phrasing about baby carriers, like
"Wearing your baby seems to be in fashion."
...and...
"Supposedly it's a real bonding experience."
But critics pointed out that the sarcastic tone cast doubt over the safety of using baby
carriers, and internet moms were not having it.
The Washington Post reports that after a boycott and a "digital tsunami of protest," parent
company McNeil Consumer Healthcare pulled the ad, and issued an apology.
But apparently this other one was still fine:
"Motrin targets your muscle pain."
"Ahhh."
"The same way birds target your head."
"Yuck."
Snickers
This 2007 ad featured two mechanics who go all Lady and the Tramp on a Snickers bar,
until they accidentally kiss.
Horrified, they attempt to quickly,
"Do something manly."
The homophobia implied in the ad is immediately clear, though.
According to CBS, "The Human Rights Campaign" and the "Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation" reached out to Snickers maker Masterfoods USA, to say the ad could "promote
anti-gay bullying."
Masterfoods spokeswoman Alice Nathanson responded in a statement, "We know that humor is highly
subjective and understand that some people may have found the ad offensive.
Clearly that was not our intent."
Snickers pulled the ad, and clearly kept brainstorming:
"At last a range of underwear from the one company that knows nuts better than anyone."
"Knickers by Snickers"
Popchips
Ashton Kutcher appeared in this 2012 Popchips ad as "Raj," a horny Bollywood producer with
a thing for Snooki and Kardashian butts.
"Raj" was one of four equally awkward characters Kutcher played in the dating show spoof.
"I was in a milking contest"
"I love poetry."
"And I won it."
"I'm sorry I was holding my breath to look skinnier."
Critics said, Unfortunately, the character was as offensive as it was unfunny.
After an influx of complaints, Popchips apologized and removed the "Raj" portion of the ad from
its website.
GM
Back in 2007, General Motors aired an ad in which an assembly line robot throws itself
off a bridge after losing its job and failing to find fulfilling work elsewhere.
Robot suicide.
Hilarious, right?
"Bring it on baby!"
Well, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention didn't think so.
According to CNN Money, they got the automaker to pull the ad.
GM spokesman John McDonald said, "We talked to [the Foundation], heard their concerns
and decided to make an adjustment."
GM agreed to cut the bridge segment, and re-aired an edited version.
Sales Genie
The sales-lead-generator website, Sales Genie, actually aired two controversial commercials
during Super Bowl XLII in 2008.
But the one that got pulled featured two pandas named Ling Ling and Ching Ching who lament
the lack of customers at their bamboo furniture shack — until they use Sales Genie to turn
things around.
"Thank you Sales Genie.
Hey kids!
Do you want to go see the grizzly bears at the zoo?"
The offensive accents and broken English upset viewers enough to prompt the company's CEO,
Vinod Gupta, to pull the spot.
Speaking with the New York Times, Gupta, who actually wrote the ad, failed to understand
the outrage, saying, "We never thought anyone would be offended.
The pandas are Chinese, they don't speak German.
Maybe next year, no audio, so I don't offend anybody."
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