Over the year we have seen a lot of successful and unsuccessful marketing campaigns. What makes a marketing campaign successful? Is it how it’s advertised? The type of celebrity that endorses it? or maybe how they get their messages across?
Today I will focus on unsuccessful marketing campaigns, and what has caused them to be unsuccessful. In a meeting room, a concept may seem terrific, but once it’s out there not so much. What the brand thought was a brilliant concept might go horribly wrong in a variety of ways. The ultimate product might be a confusing jumble that can harm the brand, regardless of how it’s done or perceived.
Marketers are experimenting with new channels and media. When brands are chasing that viral video or trending tweet, brands can’t afford to make marketing mistakes. Even the most well-known brands produce them. And these mistakes can be costly.
There have been a lot of failed marketing campaigns over the years. Some examples are Pepsi Kendall Jenner Tv spot, Dove body positivity campaign, Mcdonald’s UK tv spot and many more.
I will be focusing on the Pepsi Kendall Jenner Tv spot marketing campaign. It has been 5 years since the release of the advert (released in 2017) and it is arguably one of the biggest failed marketing campaigns ever.
Imagine if you were one of the brains behind this advert, in 2017 police brutality was on the rise with a lot of the protests happening around the world. “Let’s get the reality star Kendall Jenner to end the standoff between police and Black live matters protesters, she would offer the police a can of Pepsi and all will be well in the world.”
People were outraged at this advert; the spot was made fun of. Pepsi had to take down the advert. The spot got 1.6 million views on YouTube before it was taken down. It was parodied on SNL.
PepsiCo president Brad Jackman stepped down six months later, according to Ad Age he called the spot “the most gut-wrenching moment of my career”.
What was wrong with this marketing campaign? Kendall hasn’t been known to talk or speak about social and racial injustices before the advert therefore, it was inappropriate for Pepsi to ask her to speak out on an issue like this. People were angry about the spot because it showed a can of Pepsi can end world racial problems. There are a lot of factors that can make a marketing campaign unsuccessful, in this instance, it’s the celebrity and message behind the campaign.
What I have learnt through this marketing campaign is that creators need to be careful with how they get their messages because they could mean well but how it is put across is completely different. I will ensure to be cautious and sensitive towards social issues and try not to cause offence to anyone with my campaigns. I will also be careful with the people or images I use within my campaign. As I continue to work on my website, I have designed what I want it to look like. I have outlined what colours work well and the colour theme I will go with.
