The biggest brand fails of 2024

AI might be helping brands work more efficiently—but the technology was also at the center of several high-profile marketing mistakes this year. AI-fueled ads from Apple, Google and Toys R Us drew heavy criticism for being tone-deaf, or just plain bad. But brands this year also made plenty of old-fashioned mistakes, including a major packaging error (Mattel), an offensive copy line (Bumble) and a poorly researched product remake (Adidas). Below, we summarize 11 of the biggest brand fails of 2024, in alphabetical order. Adidas, SL 72 shoes The sports brand in July was forced to apologize for “any upset or distress caused” over its release of a remake of its SL 72 shoes, which originally debuted during the 1972 Munich Olympics. Critics, including the StopAntisemitism group, pointed out that the games are known for the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists. The brand also drew complaints for making model Bella Hadid, a prominent critic of the Israeli government, the face of the campaign. Hadid in an Instagram post later said that “I am shocked, I am upset, and I am disappointed in the lack of sensitivity that went into this campaign,” adding that “my team should have known. Adidas should have known and I should have done more research so that I too would have known and understood, and spoken up.” Antisemite Bella Hadid was chosen by Adidas as the face for the 1972 Olympic shoe relaunch. The same Olympics in which Jews were butchered by Palestinian terrorists.If the shoes fits @adidas - how on par. pic.twitter.com/2jOVgIRv9s— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) July 17, 2024 Apple, “Crush” Apple issued a rare apology in May after it released an ad for the iPad Pro that was met with fierce criticism. The ad depicted a range of creative tools and objects—including a piano, camera and cans of paint—being destroyed by an industrial crusher. The spot was meant to represent how the iPad can squeeze all the different creative elements into one thin device. The ad struck a nerve with viewers, who felt the commercial instead grimly represented technology crushing analog and traditional human creativity, noting the message was at odds with Apple's motto of championing creativity. Critics also felt it eerily brought to life many fears creatives already have with the rise of AI. The tech giant quickly responded to the backlash by scrapping plans to run the ad on TV. “Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry,” Tor Myhren, the company’s VP of marketing communications, told Ad Age at the time. Bath & Body Works, "Snowed In" The retailer in October came under fire for a design on packaging that resembled Ku Klux Klan hoods. The packaging for the Snowed In winter candle included snowflake of white cutouts, a style that drew comparisons to the hoods with eye holes worn by the KKK. Bath & Body Works pulled the candle from store shelves after social media complaints. In a statement it said it is “committed to fixing any mistakes we make-even those that are unintentional like this one.” Bath & Body Works needs to fire all the people who approved this candle artwork 🤦🏻♀️ pic.twitter.com/jkHpVtN503— Ash (@ash_like_whoa) October 8, 2024 Bumble, “Celibacy” The dating app sought to call attention to its rebrand with an outdoor campaign that included the line “a vow of celibacy is not the answer.” The brand, which has long sought to empower women, was trying to energize those who might be tired of the dating game. But women criticized the brand as tone-deaf for spreading a message that conflicted with the belief that celibacy is a valid personal choice, especially amid growing restrictions on abortion rights in the U.S. Bumble responded by removing the line from the campaign, acknowledging that “it may have had a negative impact on some of our community. This was not our intention.” Also read: The 25 best ads of 2024 Google, “Dear Sydney” The tech giant used the Olympics to push its Gemini AI platform with what was intended to be a heartwarming spot depicting a father helping his daughter write a letter to her idol, track star Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone. But the in-house ad drew widespread criticism over the fact that the dad delegated Gemini to write the letter for her. Critics saw it as tone-deaf, with AI co-opting a formative childhood act. Google eventually pulled the spot. Gopuff, “Ozempic Week” The delivery app tried to capitalize on the buzz around weight loss drugs by promoting “Ozempic Week” to sell low-calorie snack foods. Messages encouraged some users to “get summer ready, save money and shed pounds.” While plenty of brands are altering their marketing and product approaches amid the weight-loss drug boom, this attempt did not go over so well. It prompted criticism and confusion on social media, with one person asking, “Gopuff did you just offer me drugs?” Jaguar “Copy Nothing” The British auto brand was subjected to widespread criticism and mockery over its November rollout of a new logo and brand design that it touted as a “celebration of modernism.” Critics pounced on an accompanying video, called “Copy Nothing,” which featured people wearing brightly colored, oddly shaped clothes. The “Barbie-meets-Zoolander aesthetic reads more like a grab bag of fashion tropes than a radical new future,” one industry exec told Ad Age. But Jaguar stood by the changes, later unveiling a concept car in Miami at the start of Art Week that offered a glimpse of how its new design philosophy will shape future cars positioned as ultra-luxury vehicles with price tags starting around $130,000. Kraft Heinz, “Smiles” Kraft Heinz found itself in the hot seat in October after it launched a ketchup campaign critics said was reminiscent of minstrel shows and blackface. The company apologized for and quickly pulled a European campaign called “Smiles,” which featured people grinning with ketchup smeared around their mouths. One of the ads featuring a Black man was called out for resembling minstrel shows of the 19th and 20th century where Black men were given exaggerated, clownish features, often including large red lips. The campaign was the first work to come out of the Gut New York office and was running in markets including the U.K., Spain, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy. “Although it was intended to resonate with a current pop culture moment, we recognize that this does not excuse the hurt it may have caused,” Kraft Heinz stated in an apology. Kraft Mac and Cheese, customer service The food giant also learned a lesson about how to respond to consumer complaints after a buyer used social media to express frustrations about purchasing multiple boxes of the brand’s gluten-free mac and cheese, none of which contained cheese sauce packets. Abby Engel’s TikTok on the matter drew some 2 million views and over 8,000 comments—including a defensive one from Kraft that denied quality issues. That opened the door for other brands to take action, including California Pizza Kitchen, which sent her several cauliflower crust gluten-free pizzas. Kraft later apologized and got in touch with Abby “to make things right,” it stated. Mattel, “Wicked” packaging In what might have been the biggest oops moment of the year, the toymaker inexplicably did not catch an X-rated packaging error for a new line of “Wicked” dolls timed with the movie’s release. A misprint directed customers to Wicked.com, a porn site, instead of WickedMovie.com, the landing page made for movie bookings and other information. After users flagged the mistake on social media, Mattel pulled the dolls, but not after a lot of embarrassment. An Ad Age-Harris Poll published last week revealed that Gen Z buyers were more concerned about the mistake than other generations. And the episode is still not over: Earlier this week a South Carolina mother filed a proposed class-action lawsuit that seeks at least $5 million of damages for anyone in the U.S. who bought the dolls with the misprint. Toys R Us, “Origin” The toy retailer in June hyped a new spot as the “first-ever brand film using OpenAI’s new text-to-video tool, Sora.” But according to many critics, Toys R Us should have kept that tool on the shelf. The ad depicted the brand’s history, including the origin of mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe. But observers pointed out plenty of shortcomings, including that images depicting brand founder Charles Lazarus as a boy appeared differently throughout the spot.

The biggest brand fails of 2024

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