Unhinged Retro Ads That Could Never Sell Today
The art of advertising is not for everyone, because many things can go wrong for a number of reasons. You might not know your audience very well, or you might not have all the information you need to promote a specific product. That would drive you to make an ad you'll regret almost instantly, like it happened for so many people over the decades.
A good ad can convince you to buy a product, and a great ad can create a new need for you out of thin air. Bad advertisement has the opposite effect, and it can be devastating for a brand if it can't identify what exactly went wrong. And this happened a lot back in the day.
They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, right? Well, there are definitely ads that didn't age very well, and we're here to take a look at them and laugh out loud.
Virtual On
Mixing live-action with CGI sounded great back then, but it wasn't quite there.
Tab
O…kay?
Teryton 100's
Somehow worse than the pictures in cigarette packs today.
UmJammer Lammy
Yes, this is the best way to advertise a rhythm game for kids.
Jell-O
What an odd statement.
PlayStation 2
Sony was pushing the limits with these ones.
SEGA Sports Games
Why would I want that?
Barkley Shut Up and Jam!
Direct message.
Neo-Geo
Are you a Weenie or a Hot Dog?
SEGA Channel
A bit harsh for little kids.
Lucky Tiger hair tonic
Yeah… no.
Blockbuster
It was way too common to insult potential customers in video game-related ads.
Spring Mills
This is actually the lightest of this series of ads.
Drano
Not sure about the vibe here.
SEGA & JVC
Kids today would call this cringey AF.
Pizza Hut
Not sure about the link between Pizza Hut and Death. Could you explain?
La Touraine Biscuits
What?
SEGA 32x
Rare footage of two gaming consoles doing it.
Campbell's Soup
Thanks, but no thanks.