This past year saw plenty of mistakes from brands—Ad Age even keeps track of such flubs in a weekly Marketing Winners and Losers column—but some fails were worse than others. As consumers increasingly pay attention and become more willing to cry foul on social media, marketers are constantly under the microscope of public opinion. Below, we track some of the biggest bungles of the year.
FTX implodes
More than a simple branding misstep, FTX’s demise in November was one of the year’s most notable stories. After ramping up marketing spend as a cryptocurrency darling, the exchange, which aired a Super Bowl spot starring Larry David earlier this year, filed for bankruptcy last month. The filing came after former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried allegedly misused clients' funds (Bankman-Fried has denied these allegations). David, Bankman-Fried and other spokesmen including Tom Brady and Steph Curry, were named in a lawsuit by an investor claiming FTX’s marketing campaigns lured in unsophisticated investors.