Posts Tagged ‘silly ads’

Quite.

Quite.

Ah, yes, the F*** Ups keep rolling in: this one from the Newcastle area, where they have clearly developed a whole new way of recruiting the teachers they need.

As always, it just beggars belief that no one paid any attention to this when it was in preparation.

We guess that’s what happens when you don’t empower your staff to pipe up when they notice a mistake.

Or maybe no one noticed it, which is perhaps even more worrying.

college

 

Any more for any more, people? It does remind us of one of our all-time favourites, below. For more F*** Ups, just put “F*** Up” in the search box top left of this page and hit Return or Enter or whatever your keyboard says. There are dozens to enjoy.

 

Oh, those crazy whacky British private schools ...

Oh, those crazy whacky British private schools …

Who you calling a goat?

Who you calling a goat?

About time we had another advertising and marketing F*** Up to report to you.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, and it’s the Year of the Monkey this year of course, Woolworths in Australia are thoughtfully selling Chinese lucky bamboo with a cute Monkey picture. Seems a great idea. But as our good friend She Cao asks on Facebook, why have they written the Chinese character for “Goat” under the cute picture of a cheeky Monkey?

We think the people should be told. Woolworths? Care to comment?

Update: latest reports tell us the mistake is in Coles, too. Crikey!

For more F*** Ups, just pop F*** Up in the search box on the top left of this page, and go for your life. There are dozens on the blog. Enjoy.

Warning: this article contains NSFW offensive language and an excruciating gaffe.

Friday marked 100 days until the official release of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 – be still our beating hearts – and the franchise managed to celebrate in the worst way possible.

The Hunger Games’s official Twitter account released a (now deleted) poster where the worst-of-all-never-let-it-be-breathed-in-public C-word was accidentally strewn right across dear old Jennifer Lawrence’s face.

Now we know JLaw’s a sport, but really. Gentlemen. NONE of you noticed before you did this?

Find art director. Fire his or her sad ass.

cunt

 

Thanks to The Independent for the spot. And most of the rest of the internet. Jennifer will be starting to wish the damn thing had never been invented.

For more F*** Ups, just put F*** Up in the search box to the top left of this page. Enjoy.

oopsWe feel rather guilty posting these, because to be frank we couldn’t translate a single word of Engrish into any of the various versions of Chinese, and certainly not in writing.

And the fact that hundreds of millions of Asians, Europeans, South Americans, Russians and Lord knows who else speak very passable English as well as their own mother tongue while your average English plod struggles to remember a smattering of their schooldays French is a shame to us all in the Anglophone world.

Nevertheless, they’re bloody funny, so cultural imperialism be damned, here they are.

funny-chinese-sign-translation-fails-1

The interesting thing about this supermarket sign is that it actually makes sense. Fuck is the English-sounding equivalent of a Chinese character that means “Dried”.

Although personally, we think it’s a crie de cÅ“ur from children the world over.

(See our strategic use of French there? Impressive, huh?)

funny-chinese-sign-translation-fails-15

Yes, well, we’ve all eaten a bit of that in the Chinese hole-in-the-wall eatery we stumble across after a night on the lager. Moving on …

funny-chinese-sign-translation-fails-6

We love it. We’ll have a plateful of Whatever, thank you, and hold the custard. What we really love is that after toasting everyone in rice spirit for a couple of hours this is exactly what all guai lo actually say after a nineteen course banquet when asked what they’d like for dessert. The idea of actually putting it on the menu for people to point to wearily is rather apt and charming.

toilet

Last but not least, make sure you use the right toilet in the store. This one is reserved for the smallest of minorities, but that’s OK. Disabled elderly pregnant children have rights like the rest of us.

For more F*** Ups just put F*** Up in the little search box top left of this page. Have fun!

What he said.

What he said.

You will be aware, Dear Reader, that we adore F*** Ups in packaging, social media, advertising, and, thank the Lord, billboards.

Somehow a F*** Up on a billboard is just so much more noticeable, isn’t it?

Well, in our determined mission to make the world a much better informed place, and especially our beloved world of advertising and marketing, here are a bunch of doozies that have hit our mailbox in the last week or so. More as they come to hand!

 

hitman

 

The placement of one billboard next to another is something ad agencies rarely have any interest in, not yet the media companies themselves, apparently. But as you can see, it’s of great import …

 

behold

 

Always a good idea to consider double-entendres when writing billboards. Or maybe this Church community is so naive they just didn’t spot the obvious confusion.

 

pussy

 

It’s not even enough to consider how well designed your billboard for oven-safe clothing at Aldi is. You also have to check the sign that was on your chosen billboard before yours. Gulp.

 

macdonalds

 

And there’s that “what will my ad be next to” factor in play again.

Do yourself a favour, next time you buy a billboard, ask what the next ad to it is all about, too. If your media buying company can’t tell you, sack them and find one that can.

Otherwise, as we pointed out some two years ago, this can happen.

On the right, a billboard for a laudable new safety at work campaign, highlighting the distress when police turn up at a suburban home to tell a wife and her daughter that the husband, er, won’t be home from work. Ever.

On the left, a lap dancing club advertises its wares.

 

outdoor

 

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear …

For other F*** Ups just type F*** Up in the search box top left of this page 🙂

 

So facepalm worthy, they made a statue for it.

So facepalm worthy, they made a statue for it.

OK, forget Cock Flavour Soup. I mean that was good, but we’ve gone one better.

Thanks to our eagle-eyed correspondent, we have now have what must be the all-time unfortunate packaging f*** up – yes, two in just a week!

OK, it’s from Iceland. Or at least, it’s from the frozen foods retailer called Iceland. But they speak English in both places, right?

This apparently got through the client, the marketing department, the quality control dept in the agency … no one in the retailer said anything …

Honestly. I mean, really?

And you thought the horse-meat pies was big news.

 

minge

 

Rumours of single men heading to Iceland for Christmas are greatly exaggerated. And if you don’t get the joke, which we’re sure you do, just click here. If you absolutely feel you need to. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=minge

As always, for a full list of F*** Ups we have brought to the world for group derision, just pop F*** Up in the search box top left of this page and hit Enter.

Go on, you know you want to.

This has to be the best ever. Unless, Dear Reader, you know better? And yes, we’re not idiots, we know it could be a photoshop internet meme joke thing, but at this point, sans evidence from Snopes.com, we’re treating it as a real F*** Up, especially as we have seen other equally unlikely ones that we know to be true.

Some fancy dusting, right there ...

Some fancy dusting, right there …

Meanwhile, just coz we’re nice, here’s the best mice pie recipe ever. After all, Christmas isn’t far away now, right? And Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without mince pies. This easy recipe for the rich, sticky, sweet fruits wrapped in pastry reveals why they are so more-ishly delicious.

Mince pies have been eaten as part of a traditional British Christmas since as long ago as the 16th century. Back then they were made with meat (hence the name) but now they are made with sweet mincemeat; a mixture of dried fruits, sugar, spices and brandy.

Cute new design that has become popular recently.

Cute new design that has become popular recently.

Home made “mincemeat” is quick and easy to make and there are also many great commercial brands out there to use instead. The advantage of making your own is that you can, ahem, sample it as you go. Fun for all the family. And your tummy. And the kitchen smells simply awesome.

Suet is an important part of the mincemeat and is an animal fat, so if you don’t eat meat, look out for vegetarian version or make mincemeat using an alternative fat.

Shortcrust pastry is my preferred mince pie case, some like puff pastry, you choose.

INGREDIENTS
  • 350g / 12oz plain / all purpose flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 225g butter / 8 oz cubed or an equal mix of butter and lard
  • 1 beaten egg + 1 cold water as needed
  • 1 jar of mincemeat, shop bought or home made (see below)
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: Depends on size of tin used.
PREPARATION

Heat the oven to 205°C/400°F/Gas 6

Make the Pastry

  • Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean bowl.
  • Rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, working as quickly as possible to prevent the dough becoming warm.
  • Add the egg to the mixture and using a cold knife stir, add cold water a teaspoon at a time until the mixture binds but don’t make it too wet that it is sticky.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for a minimum of 15 minutes, up to 30 minutes

Assemble the Pies

  • Choose a muffin or bun tin for the size of the pie you want. Choose from a standard 12-cup muffin tin down to small canapé size. The number of pies will depend on the size of cup you choose.
  • Dust a work surface lightly with a little flour and roll out two-thirds of the pastry to 1/8″/3mm thick. Cut circles to line the cups of your tin, don’t worry if the pastry doesn’t come to the top.
  • Fill the pastry lined tins 2/3 full with mincemeat.
  • Roll out the remaining pastry to the same thickness and cut smaller circles to fit as lids on the tarts or to be decorative, cut stars or other fancy shapes.
  • Dampen the edges of the tart bases with a little cold water and press the lids on. Make a small hole in the surface of each pie with a small sharp knife to allow the steam to escape (you can omit this if using star-shaped lids).
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 20 mins (15 mins if making canape size) or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the icing sugar.Mince pies are delicious served hot or cold on their own or with Brandy Butter.They will keep well if placed in an airtight tin – up to seven days. Depending on your personal preference, they benefit from a gentle warming in the oven before serving. As an alternative, eat them with any creamy cheese like Brie or Camembert – unexpectedly perfect combination!

Mincemeat recipe

INGREDIENTS
  • 6oz/175g raisins
  • 4 oz/ 110g sultanas
  • 10 oz/ 275g currants
  • 4 oz/110g candied, mixed peel, finely chopped
  • 6 oz/175g shredded suet (beef or vegetarian)
  • 1/2 lb/ 250g soft, dark brown sugar
  • ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 2 tsp mixed spice
  • Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
  • 1 Bramley or cooking apple, cored and finely chopped, no need to peel
  • 4 tbsp brandy
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 150 minutes
  • Total Time: 170 minutes
  • Yield: 3 X 1 lb Jars
The other good thing about Christmas catering!

The other good thing about Christmas catering!

If you prefer, add whiskey instead of brandy.

If you prefer, have a glass or two yourself while cooking.

It’s Christmas. You’re allowed.

Nom nom nom.

 

 

Screen shot 2014-10-20 at 4.43.30 PM

 

Note to Real Estate Advertisers … remove Lorum Ipsum from your website and replace with actual captions before you let the site go live.

*sighs*

What do they teach the young people nowadays? Mutter mutter, grumble grumble.

Mind you, it’s easily done.

I well remember many years ago my company was preparing a website for the Liberal Party who were about to defend their Victorian Government in a general election. (Don’t shoot me, fellow leftie peeps, it was paying work and not all my partners were lefties.)

eff-kennettAnyhow this work mainly consisted of sticking up simple web pages with each Liberal candidate on, and then a short bio after them.

But in preparing the draft of the website for the notoriously mecurial Jeff Kennett and the Liberal Party luminaries, the junior flog who was doing the grunt work on the website hadn’t been provided with a list of names of the candidates, so he just typed “Some Liberal Wanker” as a placeholder under each photo. He was presumably a leftie, too. Or maybe just sceptical about politicians generally.

Anyhow, the account executive concerned bundled up the website draft without looking at it and emailed it to everyone for their approval. Like that.

When we realised the error, with a sick feeling in the pit of our stomachs, a few bottles of wine were opened and we bunkered down waiting for the phone call telling us we’d been sacked.

But apparently, when Jeff saw the mock up, he laughed like a drain and commented, “Well, most of them are!”

A politician with a sense of humour? Who knew?

Since those days Jeff has gone on to reinvent himself as a media personality, a passionate supporter of his beloved Hawthorn Football Club, and most of all as an effective and thoughtful advocate for the anti-Depression group Beyond Blue. And good on him, too. Having once been one of Australia’s most polarising personalities, he is now considered something of a local treasure, and the work he’s done on Depression has changed lives. Funny old world.

Yup.

Yup.

 

So. The marketing manager for White Castle spotted nothing. Nor the graphic artist or the (presumably outsourced to Asia) printer. The account executive was out to lunch, chowing down on 100% beef chicken, presumably.

 

Probably not.

Probably not.

 

But even that pales into insignificance compared to this little beauty.

One is not entirely surprised the bain marie seems still full of the rice.

So much more …. interesting …. than a scattering of dried shallots or a cashew or two. Not sure how they got it in there, mind. Does it come in a packet?

There aren’t enough English speakers left in the world to get little details like this right, of course.

(For a bazillion other great examples in our F*** Ups series, just stick F*** Up in the search box top left on this page. Go on – you know you want to.)

Which one would you prefer, Sir? Left or right?

Which one would you prefer, Sir? Left or right?

 

Well, that’s the lad’s night in sorted, then. And all for under 25 quid.

We kew Essex girls were good value, but this is ridiculous.

 

I kinew the take away business was getting more competitive, but sheesh.

OK, so the take away business was getting more competitive, but sheesh. Strippers delivering your pizza? Really? (Come to think of it, that reminds us of a 1970s, er, ” movie” title.)

 

And hey – it’s not like a silly little SMS sent from an outlet in Southend is going to end up taking the piss out of our brand worldwide, is it?

For other glorious advertising, sub editing and packaging F*** Ups, just stick F*** Up in the search box top left. Enjoy.

One: do not put your ads where people can reach them.

Two: Never underestimate the genius of the common man.

20140330-121233.jpg

“I … Well … Look … Um … Maybe … Perhaps they … Er … Miss Faversham, could you get Marketing on the line, they appear to have made something of a faux pas.”

Unbelievable. Even by our stellar standards.

It is simply not possible to imagine an ad dumber than this.

Unless, of course, Dear Reader, you know better …?

And no, we will not, no matter however you beg, plead and cajole, be drawn into speculation as to what a “Minnow Shot” might be …

20131107-232550.jpg

(Thank you for the spot, David Oliver.)

crab.jpg

Ok, you know what the guy writing the ad on his home computer MEANT to say. He got his clip art sorted out, his rudimentary page layout programme was working fine, and he typed and typed for all he was worth, with all those lovely different typefaces and sizes, bless him.

And then right at the last minute, just as the rep from the local newspaper was calling round, he remembered that one last vital thing he had to say, so you know what? Let’s give it a screamer pull out! Brilliant!

Oh dear.

Oh dearie dearie me.

20130920-163636.jpg

dohDoes this qualify as an Advertising F*** Up of the Year?

Maybe Sub Editing F*** Up of the Year?

Look, not, not really, but it’s just so funny I couldn’t not share it.

That was also the feeling of whoever took the photo, I guess.

Well, like so often, you know what they MEANT to say.

Well, like so often, you know what they MEANT to say.

We are now left wondering, aimlessly, what the staff looked like and whether we would want them to touch us. As it looks like some middle eastern-style carpet bazaar, I suspect not … then again, whatever floats your boat.

Meanwhile, it’s clear to see how the Asians have decided to deal with their population crisis. A bit extreme, but the price of rice is going up.

Does that come with sauce?

Does that come with sauce?

OK, this is not the most dignified way to rack up 450 posts, but there it is. I did warn everyone 18 months ago this would be a very eclectic collection of news, opinion and silliness. You’re still reading, so I guess you agree …. 🙂

I was originally going to do these once a month, until they came flooding in so thick and fast that they just demand being published.

For today’s it’s All Hail the Mighty Target, (Australian branch), who, in an interesting wrinkle on recent controversies, (forgive the pun), are here found guilty of not air-brushing their models enough.

He’s very handy, this chap, isn’t he? Still, I expect he’s basically ‘armless.

How many can you count?

The catalogue page on the Target Australia website has now been corrected – luckily someone spotted it and got it out into the blogosphere first. And thank you to Caitlin for bringing it to my attention.

Somewhere inside Target is a little marketing assistant who won’t sit down for a week, not to mention his or her counterpart in the art department of the ad agency. “Such a drag, all that proof reading. I know: let’s go to the pub instead!”

And wait … those perfect families in catalogues aren’t real? Surely not!

The other Advertising F*** Ups we’ve spotted this year, if you missed ’em.

The world’s stupidest billboard placement: http://wp.me/p1LY0z-gX

Not the holiday anyone would really want: http://wp.me/p1LY0z-hJ

Stores abusing innocent shoppers: http://wp.me/p1LY0z-j8

My personal favourite so far, the most embarrassingly badly worded headline in history: http://tinyurl.com/7enukvd

And the most recent. Oh, those crazy whacky country McDonalds eaters: http://tinyurl.com/83vgpng

More soon, no doubt. Keep ’em coming people.