Most of us are bombarded with ads wherever we look. They pop up persistently while we’re scrolling, sneak into our takeout orders, or interrupt our sports viewing mid-play. Most of the time, they’re at least a little annoying—unwelcome bids for our attention (and hard-earned money). But every so often, we’re blessed with an ad that’s truly masterful. I’m talking about the kinds of ads that are so brilliantly (and seemingly effortlessly) executed that we don’t mind giving them our attention. Often, they stick with us long after the fact, too.
The ads featured here certainly aren’t ones we’ll forget in a hurry. But they didn’t earn that distinction through witty copy or clever creative. It’s their placement or some other unfortunate decision that does the work, landing somewhere so wrong it loops back around to feeling hilariously and sometimes painfully right—so much so that you can’t tell if it’s an HR headache or the smartest PR move a brand ever made.
#1 An Anti Drunk Driving Ad I Saw In India
Image source: Accomplished_Fun6481
#2 Hand Sanitizer Station Disguised With Eye Hydration Advertising
Image source: gravybang
#3 Unfortunate Ad Placement
Image source: bisky11
Whether we realize (or like) it or not, advertising has become an ever-present part of our modern lives. From the moment we open our eyes for our morning scroll (admit it, you do it too) till we shut off whatever we’re watching at night, we come across ads in all sorts of places. There’s that pop-up you’ve closed for the bazillionth time, the commercial break in your favorite podcast, the billboard on your way to work, or even the ad carefully disguised as a free recipe in your online grocery shopping haul.
#4 This Has To Be Intentional
Image source: adamgone
#5 No, I Don’t Think I Will…
Image source: Jediboy127
#6 This Ad For Subway Under A R/Creepy Post About The Shining
Image source: Misafic
But while these forms of advertising might seem distinctly modern, Alison Hahn, PhD, reminds us that advertisements “can be traced back to the oldest human communities,” with examples found “in Egyptian ruins, in the ashes of Pompeii, and in Mayan cities.” Of course, advertising has become considerably more ubiquitous since then: some estimates suggest that the average American is exposed to thousands of ads every day, with that number increasing considerably over the past few decades.
#7 I Can’t Decide If This Being At A Hospital Makes It Better Or Worse
Image source: Calamitous-Ortbo
#8 Unfortunate Mirror Placement In Spanish Sephora Store
Image source: PewDiePiesPerrier
#9 Speaks For Itself
Image source: ViceIncarnate
The reason for making ads has arguably remained pretty constant—to capture our attention and, ultimately, persuade us to buy (or buy into) something—but what’s changed is that the various forms advertising takes have multiplied. Whereas early modern advertisements often took the form of words and images printed on paper, either as part of a newspaper or as advertisements posted in community settings, advertising changed, Hahn explains, “with the development of new printing technologies, as well as other communicative media such as the radio and television, and later the Internet.”
#10 The Placement Of This Baby’s Head Wasn’t Quite Thought Through
Image source: ninimalini
#11 One Job Phil
Image source: Reildo
#12 The Irony In This Photo
Image source: Arcade_Maggot_Bones
Each new medium has brought with it new possibilities for where, when, and how brands can reach us. Radio and television allowed advertisers to incorporate sound, movement, timing, and programming context into their campaigns, while the Internet—and all that came with it—opened up an entirely new world of possibilities. Suddenly, ads didn’t have to be static messages aimed at a broad audience. They could be tailored to particular groups and delivered directly to people based on their interests and online behavior.
#13 Installed That Billboard Boss!
Image source: oliverodaa
#14 Not Very Good Advertising!
Image source: [deleted]
#15 This Church Has Some Rather Unfortunate Ad Placement For Its Bible Camp
Image source: LunaMcLovin
As Derek D. Rucker and Tim Calkins write for the Harvard Business Review, “With new technological advancements happening every day—better customer segmentation abilities, automation tools, new social media platforms—marketers have the opportunity to share their ideas more widely and expand their audiences, perhaps more than ever.”
With all these new opportunities, however, the challenge for marketers now becomes getting people to actually pay attention to what they’re putting in front of them. We’re often described as living in an “attention economy,” and that’s because, as Emilia Kirk writes for Forbes, “Attention is a finite resource.”
#16 “Make The Athlete Look Like She’s In Motion”
Image source: kronograf
#17 T̶a̶s̷t̵e̷ ̸t̷h̸e̴ ̸f̶e̶e̵l̶i̶n̸g̶
Image source: dudelsac
#18 Disney Font Puts The Fun In Funeral
Image source: rageagainsthevagene
We might be exposed to thousands upon thousands of ads each day, Kirk explains, but “The average human brain is simply incapable of processing such a bombardment of content.” That means that we ignore or very quickly forget about the vast majority of ads that we encounter. What this means for advertisers is that they have to find increasingly effective ways to stand out from the noise.
#19 Yeah Very Flexible
Image source: Omega_Hamster
#20 I Followed This Bus For 4 Blocks To Wait For It To Pull Over To Share This Beautiful Work Of Art
Image source: Germantoast33
#21 Great Ad Placement Along Marathon Route
Image source: bisky11
And when it comes to standing out, these ads certainly managed to do just that. Whether their unfortunate placements or other dubious design decisions were a stroke of marketing genius is highly debatable—and, frankly, highly unlikely. But they sure made us stop, look, do a double take, laugh, and cringe. And in a landscape where the average ad barely registers, perhaps that’s the one metric that actually matters.
#22 Unfortunate Shadow
Image source: bestusernameieversaw
#23 This Advertisement Was In A Parenting Magazine. It Was For Yogurt. ಠ_ಠ
Image source: holyroller801
#24 There’s An Optometrist Business Near My House That Has This Giant Poster Outside Advertising Colored Contacts. It Seems To Have Aged In A “Is That A Demon?” Way
Image source: philosophyfirst1989
#25 Vote For Me!
Image source: mungoflago
#26 This Ad In My Print Copy Of The New Yorker
Image source: [deleted]
#27 “Join Hands” To Make Hospitals “Infection Free”
Image source: bea_easter12_
#28 This Colon Cleanse Ad Is So Bad It’s Hilarious
Image source: Svargas05
#29 Sometimes The Answer Is In The Box Too
Image source: [deleted]
#30 Do Not Look Away At The Road
Image source: avidbirdpointerouter
#31 A “Save Water” Ad Which Makes You Spit On The Poor Kid’s Face While Brushing
Image source: Kapikap0906
#32 Ah Yes, China, My Favorite Food
Image source: TheJemcins
#33 We’re Not Happy ‘Til You’re Not Happy
Image source: Hantook
#34 Bread So Emo It Slices Itself
Image source: BeanMachine0
#35 Wow! What A Bargain!
Image source: DjFizz
#36 We Cut Kids
Image source: aTerrariaExpert
#37 Local Newspaper Editor Can’t Read A Room
Image source: dangraphs
#38 Welcome To El Paso, TX
Image source: AwarenessRough5444
#39 The Poster On The Back Of This Bus
Image source: [deleted]
#40 Poor Choice Of Ad Placement
Image source: Sloan1505
#41 Interesting Ad Placement
Image source: bisky11
#42 This Unfortunate Placement Of A Handle
Image source: loselmuh
#43 Math Is Hard. Don’t Let It Get You Down
Image source: weinythewhite
#44 This Really Odd Advertisement For Transit Around My City (Where Did The Bus Driver Come From?!?!)
Image source: LoveGhostDotEXE
#45 This Woman Turning Into Fish Roll
Image source: Cream77
#46 No Way
Image source: ashutoshpac95
#47 There Is A Placeholder Ad On My Country, Then This Happened!
Image source: PaP3s
#48 So Tender
Image source: MaFuMo
#49 Just Riding The Bus
Image source: prosto_mokasin
#50 Life Has A Certain Poetry To It
Image source: GraniteCapybara
#51 Mcdonalds Ad Right Next To The New Nhs Healthy Eating Ad. Great Job, Lads
Image source: sixtittypertitty2
#52 Umm What
Image source: salti3
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