Bad advertising slogans: that's not how you advertise ... or is it?

Introduction

Bad slogans, we still see them. This is because the amount of advertising we (unconsciously) take in has grown exponentially. People often make the mistake of not thinking more closely about their business copy and come up with clumsy slogans that get them bad press. Or is negative publicity also publicity?

Slip

Car salesmen, plumbers, energy suppliers, insurance companies, bakers, you name it, they will make a slip with their marketing. From cute little spelling mistakes (the website Taalvoutje features the most hilarious examples) and puns that mostly make you laugh, to embarrassing blunders that become trending on social media. The reader wonders: why didn't they just have a third party check that?

Finger lickin' good

Everyone knows right away who it's about, KFC of course! In late 2020, KFC received much criticism from the media for allegedly contrasting the slogan with corona measures. KFC later temporarily discontinued the slogan and even posted an article on their own website awarding themselves the "most inappropriate slogan of 2020′ award. Although KFC received a lot of negative media "bad press" around this time, KFC's campaign achieved its goal. Worldwide, they have been named in 2,511 articles across 100 countries, sales increase of 119 percent (largely during the lockdown) and 10 times more engagement than predicted, reports Gareth Platt of ClikZ in 2021.

Election

The website Sloganverkiezing.nl, in consultation with their colleagues from Bad Slogans, organizes an annual election. In 2022, "The Crossroads" was awarded the prize for the worst slogan. The slogan was as follows: "Don't make your cross a point, come to The Crossroads". With a small difference of a whopping 28 votes, they left 'Mycosan' in second place with the slogan "Foot fungus? Stick up your middle toe!" certainly does not deserve the beauty prize either.

Bad press?

Is this kind of publicity necessarily a blemish on your brand? Care center Het Kruispunt is still active on social media, and found its way onto RTL news and NOS with this award. Medical device Mycosan is also featured in the same article, although they have not been active on social media since 2020 (missed opportunity!). Mycosan's products are still available on multiple platforms and their own website, though, so they did survive the "bad press" and recently grab all kinds of mention on websites and social media accounts. So whether a bad slogan is going to work or not can never be said. Try it out on a group of friends. Do you cause smiles, then it's good. If it stays uncomfortably quiet, then you know it. Then read how to come up with a slogan.

Learn more about the meaning and differences between slogans, pay-offs, taglines and mottos.