Corporate giants have a knack for turning cinema into a sprawling commercial, and the resulting disastrous attempts often backfire spectacularly.
Disastrous Attempts in Film Advertising
10 The Internship Google
Google didn’t hand the makers of The Internship a blank check with a note saying “Make people forget we’re mining their private data for profit,” but the tech giant was so deeply involved that it might as well have co‑directed the picture. Throughout production, Kyle Ewing, Google’s head of global staffing, advised the filmmakers on how the internet behemoth operates. Google staff even designed the film’s end credits and added lines of dialogue.
The studio was granted permission to shoot scenes at Google’s headquarters without paying any licensing or location fees. Executives were allowed to comment on the screenplay, view the final cut, and even removed a scene featuring a self‑driving Google car crashing.
Beyond the production floor, Google apparently had a say in the movie’s marketing, which may explain why the poster looks like a hacked Google homepage surrounded by the chaos of Wedding Crashers. The studio tried to ride the goodwill of that raunchy comedy, but Google refused to attach its name to an R‑rated film, forcing the movie into a PG‑13 rating. A later R‑rated version appeared on DVD and Blu‑ray, but the damage was done—The Internship flopped at the box office, proving the world wasn’t ready to pay for a two‑hour Google commercial.
9 Cola Company
Before Bill Cosby’s off‑screen scandals, he was the beloved TV dad whose sitcom, The Cosby Show, helped pave the way for shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel‑Air. At the height of his fame, a Cosby‑starring film seemed like a safe bet, yet his 1987 outing Leonard Part 6 turned into a disaster.
The movie was released by Columbia Pictures while The Coca‑Cola Company owned the studio—a move meant to explore new product‑marketing avenues after a tough decade for the soft‑drink giant. Cosby, fresh from a string of Coke commercials, should have been the perfect fit for a Coca‑Cola‑financed film, but his involvement as co‑writer and producer turned the project into an unwatchable mess.
The plot follows an aging spy (Cosby) pulled out of retirement to save the world. The title is an inside joke—parts 1‑5 are “too top secret to be shown.” The film is riddled with Coca‑Cola logos, and after the flop, the company sold Columbia to Sony in 1989. Cosby retreated to television for the rest of the decade.
8 Mac And Me McDonald’s
Mac And Me is a shameless copy‑and‑paste of E.T., and it proudly wears its McDonald’s funding on its sleeve. Ronald McDonald even opens the trailer with a smile that feels more like a serial killer’s grin.
The alien Mac crash‑lands on Earth, gets separated from his parents, and befriends a boy named Eric. From there, the film becomes a cross‑promotion marathon: the McDonald’s logo is everywhere, and Coke and Skittles appear as the only food Mac ever eats.
Beyond the blatant product placement, the movie suffers from ugly alien designs—wild, rolling eyes and perpetually puckered mouths—plus a meandering, dull plot. Scenes of Ronald McDonald dancing with kids in a McDonald’s restaurant only add to the cringe. The film’s legacy lives on as a recurring gag on the talk show Conan, where Paul Rudd repeatedly plays the same clip.
7 Somers Town Eurostar
Even indie cinema isn’t immune to corporate cash. In 2008, Eurostar conceived Somers Town as a way to promote its new high‑speed Paris‑to‑London service. Originally a 20‑minute short, the project expanded to a feature when acclaimed director Shane Meadows lent his indie cred.
The film escaped critical scorn, winning the Michael Powell Award for best new British feature at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and earning acting honors for Thomas Turgoose. Yet despite the accolades, Eurostar’s investment vanished. The movie opened on a single screen in the United States, grossing barely enough to cover its estimated £500,000 budget, and only about £121,500 on its opening weekend in the UK.
Ultimately, Somers Town became a festival darling that never reached the general public, its audience limited to the wealthy, airline‑savvy crowd that frequents film festivals.
6 Foodfight! Various Food And Kitchen Products
Threshold Entertainment announced Foodfight! as the next Toy Story, promising a “next‑generation Pixar” experience. The script swapped toys for food mascots—Mr. Clean, Twinkie the Kid, and the like—bringing kitchen icons to life.
CEO Larry Kasanoff secured a $50 million production budget and convinced a slew of kitchen brands to fund the $100 million marketing push. Negotiations dragged on for two years as brands fought over what their mascots could do on screen; for example, McKee Foods barred a scene where a new character catcalled at Little Debbie.
Planned for a 2002 release, the film was delayed after a supposed robbery stole hard drives containing the movie’s files. The project restarted, aiming for a 2005 launch with an additional $20 million, but missed that date as well. Kasanoff, lacking directing experience, switched from traditional animation to motion capture, issuing vague directives like “more awesome” and “30 percent better.”
Eventually, Threshold defaulted on a loan, and the insurance company finished the film on a shoestring budget. Foodfight! finally limped onto DVD in 2012, showcasing animation that looked archaic even on a PSOne.
5 Green Lantern Mattel
Mattel’s involvement in the 2011 Green Lantern was as aggressive as it was reckless. From the earliest stages, Mattel artists collaborated with the film’s crew to design gadgets and vehicles that could double as Hot Wheels toys. One set piece—an energy track guiding a crashing helicopter—looks like a direct Hot Wheels advertisement.
Mattel even produced a special Green Lantern Hot Wheels toy a full year before the movie hit theaters, then shamelessly used the film sequence in the toy’s commercial. Unfortunately, the movie flopped spectacularly, costing Warner Brothers an estimated $90 million and delaying the launch of the DC cinematic universe.
After the disaster, the DC universe was rebooted with 2013’s Man of Steel, a film that notably omitted any Hot Wheels ad‑style moments.
4 Act Of Valor US Navy
The 2012 action picture Act Of Valor was conceived deep inside the Pentagon as a recruitment tool for the Navy’s Special Warfare Command. Real Navy SEALs, not actors, performed all the stunts, marking a bold escalation in military‑Hollywood collaboration.
Critics immediately labeled the film as overt propaganda, warning it skirted U.S. laws that forbid government agencies from engaging in publicity. While the movie achieved moderate box‑office success, it was savaged by reviewers for its ludicrous plot and wooden SEAL performances.
Even the most memorable scene—a funeral for a fallen SEAL—missed the Navy’s intended inspirational message, suggesting the recruitment effort may have backfired.
3 Battleship Hasbro
Riding the wave of the Transformers franchise, Hasbro chose the board game Battleship as its next cinematic venture. Unlike Transformers, the game lacked any existing mythology, forcing director Peter Berg to invent a story from scratch.
Hasbro even arranged meetings between the director and “game psychiatrists” to explain the film’s hook. The company proudly attached its name to the trailer and produced a new Battleship toy to coincide with the release.
Despite bombastic action and cutting‑edge CGI, the movie sank at the box office, becoming the worst U.S. opening weekend flop compared to its budget, even losing out to Marvel’s Avengers Assemble.
2 Need For Speed Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts grew tired of lackluster game‑to‑film adaptations, so it partnered with director John Gatins to bring the high‑speed world of Need For Speed to the big screen. The resulting film was panned for shallow characters and an unbelievable plot, leading to a weak domestic opening.
Internationally, however, the movie performed well, especially in China, where it fully recouped its $66 million budget. The mixed reception has spurred a sequel in collaboration with a Chinese studio, reflecting a growing trend of U.S. movies engineered for overseas markets—a shift that could jeopardize genres like comedy, which don’t translate well abroad.
1 United Passions FIFA
United Passions was essentially an ego trip for FIFA, chronicling Sepp Blatter and two of his predecessors as they steered the organization through the late‑20th century. FIFA funded 80 percent of the $30 million budget, turning the film into a battle between director Frédéric Auburtin and top FIFA executives.
Auburtin accused FIFA of ruining his vision, demanding a script within four months and stripping away a subplot about a corruption investigation. The final cut was tweaked by FIFA before its Cannes debut.
Ironically, the film premiered in the U.S. a week after seven FIFA officials were arrested on corruption charges. It became the lowest‑grossing movie ever released in America, earning a paltry $918 and losing $26.8 million. Critics ripped it apart, and it now sits at 0 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.