4. Nike Dunks Its Sneaker Shots
Nike’s Hyperdunk basketball shoes got a huge shot in the arm earlier this year when the viral video of Kobe Bryant wearing the sneakers and jumping over an Aston Martin became a web sensation. See the video below:
The print ads Wieden + Kennedy designed to go along with the shoes didn’t fare quite so well. The ads presented large photographs of a basketball player being dunked on; the center of each shot was the hapless defender’s face, which was obscured by the flying dunker’s thighs and waist. Slogans like “That ain’t right” appeared on top of the image. To basketball players, it seems apparent that the “that” in question is being on the receiving end of a ferocious dunk. Others, though, thought that the key to the image was one man’s groin in another’s face, and “That ain’t right” was actually a homophobic slam. Following a heated debate on Wieden + Kennedy’s blog and a loud public outcry, Nike scrapped the ads.
5. Just for Feet Trips at the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the biggest stage for advertising, and as such, it can be the scene for some of the industry’s biggest failures. Few ads in history have failed quite so spectacularly as the one footwear chain Just for Feet ran during the 1999 Super Bowl. The spot portrayed a Humvee of white mercenaries chasing an African runner before giving him a cup of drugged water and then forcing a pair of Nikes on his feet while he’s passed out. The ad weathered criticism for being colonialist, racist, and pro-drugging; the whole thing was offensive enough that no one seemed to even notice it didn’t even really make sense.
Want more proof that the ad was transcendentally bad? Just for Feet sued its ad agency, Saatchi & Saatchi, for $10 million for convincing the company to run the ad despite its misgivings. Although Just for Feet eventually dropped the lawsuit, the company filed for bankruptcy protection later that year due to a serious accounting fraud.
This article was written by Ethan Trex from Mental Floss Magazine.
