For better or worse, people had a lot of feelings about advertising this year.
Thanks to social media, advertisers can no longer launch their campaigns into a void, hoping their marketing investment later pays off in increased sales. Advertising is now a two-way street, and brands must be prepared at all times for consumer feedback.
Increasingly, that feedback is morphing into full-blown backlash at unprecedented levels. Whether it’s heightened tension in an election year, ongoing polarization, or anxiety around emerging technology, marketers are often wading into a heated environment when trying to reach consumers.
Apple, Coca-Cola, Calvin Klein, and Bumble were among the brands that sparked emotion, criticism, and even outrage this past year.
Below, the ads that struck a cultural nerve in 2024.
NYX | Super Bowl 2024 ad
As a first-time Big Game advertiser, NYX learned the hard way that making jokes at the expense of men doesn’t sit well with the NFL. Its saucy and suggestive spot starring Cardi B and a bunch of goofy guys who misused its Duck Plump lip gloss to enhance their private parts was rejected by the league. Scrambling in the 11th hour, NYX and McCann New York produced an edited—some might say neutered—version, while angry social chatter quickly pointed out the NFL’s hypocrisy. –T.L. Stanley
Green ‘weird’ billboard
In a standout example of Bratvertising, a pair of veteran ad creatives launched a digital billboard that added the Charli XCX treatment to a Democratic Party dis of the Trump-Vance ticket. Reading, simply, “weird,” in black text against a lime green background, the work cleverly combined viral memes in support of presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The unnamed creatives worked with Florida Immigrant Coalition Votes, spending a paltry $600 for the space in Palm Beach County, not far from Mar-a-Lago, for the zeitgeisty, IYKYK campaign. –T.L. Stanley
