What exactly is bad advertising?

Bad advertising is any advertising that fails to do what it set out to do, whether that was increasing sales, raising brand awareness, or rebranding a business.

Advertisements have a few benchmarks to meet, the first being memorability. If you create an ad that’s perfectly fine on paper but lacks impact in execution, you can expect some disappointing results. People don’t remember ads that are ‘fine.’ And if they don’t remember the ad, they won’t remember who or what it’s for. So ‘fine’ ads, by advertising standards, are bad.

The next benchmark is credibility. A little embellishment in your ad copy is OK as long as it’s done right. But too much embellishment, and you risk coming across as a sleazy snake oil salesman. Shitfy. Untrustworthy. Brand trust is a difficult enough thing to build the first time.

And finally, simplicity. There are plenty of ads so out of the box that they can no longer see it and work so well that they become culturally iconic. And then there are the bandwagon ads that try and fail to do the same thing. Weird, unrelated imagery. Shots of lizards. Extravagant costumes. Neither hide nor hair of a clear message in sight. They are certainly memorable, but what use is memorability if the viewer can’t understand what’s going on or what it’s advertising?

So, if you want to promote your business right, you need to avoid these major pitfalls in your advertising. Or you could get in touch with us today, and we’ll do it for you.