2013 – Turkeys of the year
1. McDONALD’S ‘BRING IN THE CHICKENS’
McDonald’s promoted its chicken product range with a series of ads featuring 20 people with the surname Chicken. The DDB New Zealand campaign introduced audiences to the Chickens who told stories of their life and answered questions like ‘what sort of chicken burger do you think you’d be?’ Chicken ad or a total turkey? You decide.
2. TOYOTA YARIS
The award for most ridiculous fist bump in an Australian commercial goes to this spot for Oddfellows for Toyota, made all the more excruciating by being a shot-for-shot remake of an American ad for the car brand.
3. BEST&LESS CHRISTMAS
With an electronic mash of up classic Christmas carols and a slew of cheap and nasty special effects, this ad from the Best&Less Christmas campaign is, at best, a poor effort. Making matters worse, the ad features real customers, recruited via the brand’s Facebook page. Next time, just send us a catalogue.
4. BUDGET DIRECT ‘ALIENS’
It was the ad that divided a nation. This spot for insurance brand Budget Direct signalled a change of direction from the age inappropriate couple that had featured in earlier work for the brand. Instead two aliens delivered a pastiche of the overplayed commercial, equally offending and delighting the industry while championing the return of the most painfully catchy jingle in Australian advertising. Can I get a ‘boojay boojay’?
5. GRAYSONLINE
A man enthusiastically celebrates a successful wine bid on GraysOnline with some highly embarrassing dance moves that wouldn’t be out of place at a 20 year high school reunion.
6. KIA ‘WOMAN and MAN OF NOW’
Created to air during the 2013 Australian Open, the Woman and Man of Now campaign by Innocean sparked a feisty Mumbrella comment thread as some viewers labelled the commericals “unfucking-believably bad” while others tentatively praised them before being beaten down by the haters.
7. PACK & SEND ‘PIED PIPER’
Pack & Send’s attempt to paint itself as the premier postage company with its ‘Pied Piper’ campaign, created by Big River Creative, did little to promote the brand and even less for parents trying to encourage their kids to take up the flute.
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The Budget Direct ad is the worst by far. Cheesy, annoying, and all-round painful to watch. Can’t wait until it’s taken off air.
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