In today’s fast-paced world of advertising, brands are constantly striving to create campaigns that will capture attention and go viral. However, the drive to be bold or innovative sometimes leads to massive blunders, with ads causing outrage instead of admiration.

These are more than just PR missteps—these campaigns generated global backlash, sparked debates about social issues, and forced brands to reevaluate their approaches. Here are ten contemporary advertising campaigns that backfired spectacularly.

Related: Ten Controversial News Stories Surrounding ChatGPT

10 Pepsi’s “Live for Now” Protest Ad (2017)

Pepsi’s 2017 “Live for Now” ad starring Kendall Jenner quickly became a prime example of how not to co-opt social movements for advertising purposes. The commercial showed Jenner abandoning a photoshoot to join a protest, where she eventually hands a can of Pepsi to a police officer, seemingly resolving the tension between the protestors and the authorities. The ad attempted to align the brand with activism but was widely condemned for trivializing serious social issues, particularly in light of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement.

The imagery of Jenner, a white supermodel, handing a soda to a police officer to diffuse a protest was viewed as tone-deaf, given the real-world struggles faced by marginalized communities in confrontations with law enforcement. Critics pointed out that the ad seemed to reduce the complex realities of protests to a superficial moment of corporate goodwill. Social media users flooded platforms with memes and criticism, forcing Pepsi to pull the ad within 24 hours of its release. The company issued an apology, but the controversy lingered, and the campaign became a lasting symbol of corporate misjudgment.^[1]

9 Heineken’s “Sometimes, Lighter Is Better” (2018)

Heineken found itself at the center of a controversy in 2018 after releasing a commercial for its light beer featuring the tagline, “Sometimes, Lighter Is Better.” The ad showed a bartender sliding a Heineken Light past several people of color before it reached a lighter-skinned woman at the end of the bar. While the campaign was meant to promote the beer’s low-calorie content, the slogan and imagery sparked accusations of racism and insensitivity.

Many viewers, including prominent figures like Chance the Rapper, criticized the ad for its troubling racial connotations, interpreting the phrase “lighter is better” as implying a preference for lighter skin. Heineken responded by defending the ad, stating that the message was solely about the beer’s calories, but the backlash was too severe to ignore. The company eventually pulled the ad and issued an apology, but the damage to its reputation had already been done.^[2]

8 Dolce & Gabbana’s Chinese Ad Campaign (2018)

Dolce & Gabbana’s 2018 ad campaign intended to celebrate the fusion of Italian and Chinese culture ahead of a Shanghai fashion show. The ads, however, sparked immediate backlash for their portrayal of a Chinese model struggling to eat Italian food with chopsticks. The campaign was widely criticized for its racial stereotyping and cultural insensitivity, with many accusing the luxury brand of reducing Chinese culture to a caricature.

The situation escalated when alleged racist comments from co-founder Stefano Gabbana surfaced on social media, further inflaming public outrage. Chinese celebrities boycotted the brand, and Dolce & Gabbana’s highly anticipated runway show in Shanghai was canceled. Despite issuing an apology, the brand suffered significant reputational damage in China, a key market for luxury goods. Dolce & Gabbana continues to face challenges in rebuilding its image in the region.^[3]

7 Peloton’s “The Gift That Gives Back” (2019)

Peloton, the luxury fitness company known for its exercise bikes, released a holiday ad in 2019 that ignited a firestorm of criticism. The ad featured a husband gifting his wife a Peloton bike for Christmas, and she then records her fitness journey throughout the year. While the commercial was intended to highlight personal transformation and empowerment, many viewers interpreted it as sexist and tone-deaf. The woman, who already appeared fit, was seen as pressured to maintain her physique for her husband’s approval.

Social media users were quick to lampoon the ad, creating memes that mocked its premise. Critics pointed out that the ad perpetuated unhealthy gender stereotypes, with some accusing Peloton of portraying the wife as anxious to meet her husband’s expectations. The backlash was so intense that Peloton’s stock dropped, and the company spent weeks managing the PR fallout. Despite defending its intentions, Peloton acknowledged that the ad did not resonate as expected.^[4]

6 Gillette’s “The Best Men Can Be” (2019)

In early 2019, Gillette released an ad titled “The Best Men Can Be,” which tackled toxic masculinity and called on men to challenge behaviors like bullying, sexual harassment, and sexism. The ad, inspired by the #MeToo movement, featured men stepping in to stop negative behaviors and promoting positive male role models [LINK 5]. While the campaign was praised by some for addressing an important social issue, it also sparked significant backlash.

Critics accused Gillette of alienating its core audience by appearing to lecture men about their behavior. Some saw the ad as overly political and calls for boycotts quickly gained traction online, with detractors claiming that the ad unfairly generalized all men as complicit in toxic behavior. Despite the controversy, Gillette stood by the message. However, the polarizing response highlighted the risks brands face when wading into social and political issues.^[5]

5 H&M’s “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle” Hoodie (2018)

In 2018, H&M found itself embroiled in a major controversy after releasing an ad featuring a Black child wearing a hoodie that read “Coolest Monkey in the Jungle.” Given the historical use of “monkey” as a racial slur against Black people, the ad was widely condemned for its insensitivity. Social media erupted in outrage, with many accusing the brand of perpetuating harmful racial stereotypes.

Celebrities, including The Weeknd, severed ties with H&M in response to the ad, and calls for boycotts spread across the internet. The company quickly pulled the ad and issued a public apology, acknowledging that they had failed to consider the cultural implications of the imagery. Despite the swift response, the controversy raised important questions about the lack of diversity and cultural awareness in advertising.^[6]

4 Nivea’s “White Is Purity” Campaign (2017)

In 2017, Nivea released an ad campaign in the Middle East that featured a white woman dressed in white clothing, accompanied by the slogan “White Is Purity.” The campaign was intended to promote the brand’s deodorant line, but the combination of imagery and messaging immediately sparked outrage online. Critics condemned the ad for promoting racist connotations and reinforcing outdated beauty standards.

Social media users were quick to point out the problematic implications of equating purity with whiteness, and the backlash spread rapidly. Nivea swiftly pulled the ad and issued an apology, stating that the campaign was not meant to offend. However, the controversy remained a stark reminder of how easily marketing campaigns can go wrong when they fail to account for cultural sensitivities.^[7]

3 Gap’s “Love for All” Ad (2017)

Gap’s 2017 “Love for All” campaign was meant to celebrate diversity and inclusion, but one particular image in the campaign led to widespread criticism. The ad featured a group of children from different racial backgrounds, but viewers took issue with a white child resting their arm on the head of a Black child. Critics argued that the image reinforced racial stereotypes and depicted a troubling power dynamic.

The backlash was swift, with many accusing Gap of insensitivity and poor judgment. The company quickly removed the image from its platforms and issued an apology, explaining that the intention was to promote unity, not division. Despite the brand’s efforts to rectify the situation, the incident underscored the importance of thoughtful representation in advertising.^[8]

2 Kendall Jenner’s “Fyre Festival” Promo (2017)

Kendall Jenner, along with other high-profile influencers, became embroiled in the infamous Fyre Festival scandal after promoting the event on Instagram. The festival, marketed as a luxurious music experience in the Bahamas, turned out to be a complete disaster, with attendees arriving to find poor conditions, inadequate food, and no performances. Jenner, who was reportedly paid $250,000 for a single Instagram post promoting the festival, faced significant backlash for endorsing an event that turned out to be a scam.

As the details of the festival’s failure emerged, Jenner and other influencers were criticized for their role in promoting the event without conducting proper due diligence. The backlash led to lawsuits against the festival’s organizers, and the controversy became a cautionary tale about the risks of influencer marketing.^[9]

1 Burger King’s “Women Belong in the Kitchen” (2021)

On International Women’s Day 2021, Burger King UK launched a campaign that was intended to highlight the gender disparity in the culinary industry. The campaign’s headline, however, read “Women belong in the kitchen,” a provocative statement that immediately sparked outrage. While the tweet was intended to draw attention to the issue of gender inequality in the restaurant industry and promote scholarships for female chefs, many interpreted it as a sexist remark.

The backlash was swift and widespread, with social media users criticizing Burger King for using such a tone-deaf phrase, especially on a day meant to celebrate women’s achievements. Although the brand quickly deleted the tweet and issued an apology, the controversy overshadowed the campaign’s intended message of support for women in the culinary field.^[10]

Are you aware that there is no Amazon rainforest anymore? Ok, that’s not true. But do you know what is true? There is a form of ethnic cleansing occurring in China right now. Corruption, disease, a growing income gulf, food shortages. How will the public even know about any of this unless clued-in, virtuous people decide to wear a brightly coloured lapel pin for a month? Many awareness campaigns work wonders to, well, raise awareness. Others, like the entries in this list, backfire. Hard.

10 Times Virtue Signalling Ended In Disaster

10 The Gray Ribbon for Zombie Awareness…not Diabetes, Brain Tumours or Borderline Personality Disorder.

Ribbons, ribbons, ribbons and wrist bands and badges, we’re changing the world one piece of apparel at a time, folks! have you seen a yellow ribbon on someone’s sweater recently? Maybe you have. Know what it means? Yup, neither do I. So, look it up. Ah, it could mean one of several things.

Perhaps the best example of this sort of messy messaging is the gray-coloured ribbon. It could be for Diabetes awareness month, maybe brain tumours. Perhaps the wearer is supporting increased awareness for borderline personality disorder. But, most likely nowadays, they’re raising Zombie Awareness, (check for neck beard and/or barbed wire wrapped baseball bat in their hand to know for sure). Confused? Let’s look at the month of November, what should we be aware of? Movember, right? Prostate Cancer and Men’s Health awareness, no? Well, it’s also Alzheimer’s Awareness month…and No Nut November, promoting abstinence…and COPD Awareness month…and National Novel Writing Month. So plenty to do, along with early Xmas shopping, Guy Fawkes Night (in Britain) and your job and family duties. Just make sure you don a gray ribbon so that people know you also care about the inevitable zombie apocalypse (even though that should be done in May).^[1]

9 Justice for Jussie

We’ve all heard the story; Juicy Smulliet was a French actor who was subject of a rather implausible racially-motivated attack in January 2019 by two white supremacist Nigerian brothers in Chicago (the city known as ‘MAGA country’ since the 1871 fire), prompting a host of his celebrity brothers and sisters to speak out in support of him.

The real story isn’t much less ridiculous, in fact, I’ve barely changed anything except for comedic affect (thank you, Dave Chappelle!) The outpouring of support for the actor, whose testimony was quite obviously inconsistent and implausible, was immediate and telling. There was so much confirmation bias that the whole thing seemed orchestrated, not just the ‘attack’ itself. We can forgive our cognatively challenged, elite but guilt-ridden celebs, but politicians? No dice, I’m afraid. No sooner had the story gained traction, Democratic Senators Corey Booker and Kamala Harris had described the ‘attack’ as an attempted lynching, Booker going as far as trying to pass a federal anti-lynching bill. Good timing, eh? And all the while, nobody could locate Kanye West…(Dave Chappelle is the GOAT).^[2][3]

8 Environmentally Friendly Seafood (Bought by the People who Already Know)

This is a sad case of preaching to the choir. Overfishing is a serious issue, whether you are an eco-warrior or not. So how could one expect to combat this phenomenon? First step, raise awareness. Maybe put an eco-friendly sticker on products that are from stable seafood populations? Sounds good, doesn’t it? Well, according to research, the only people who take the time to look for such stickers are people who already care about the cause and, furthermore, already know what to buy and not to buy. Corporation and state-level measures seem to be a better way o combat the issue in this case. Maybe the arming of supermarket frozen fish aisle workers? Ok, too far.^[4]

7 ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ Campaign may have led to Increase in Suicide by Rail

Millenials, when they get to their late sixties, will look back at the song and app ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ like Boomers look back at Abba and Space Invaders at the gaming arcade. It was huge. I downloaded the game and hummed the tune on more than one occasion.

As awareness campaigns go, it was very effective, gaining many prizes and accolades to go with the millions of downloads. The problem? It didn’t quite work the way the Metro Trainsrail franchise in Melbourne, Australia intended it to. Not only was the original claim of a ‘20% decrease in risky behaviour’ a tad suspicious, some evidence suggests that the campaign served to take away the visceral nature, and even glamorize, suicide by rail.^[5][6]

6 The Vaccine that fewer Kids get and the STD they probably will get.

Do you want your child to have a potentially fatal disease? If you answered ‘no’, not only are you sane and I don’t need to call the authorities, but luckily there is probably a vaccine for to immunise your little tyke or tykette from contracting a fatal disease. One very effective vaccine is the HPV vaccine. So why do only around 49% of kids aged 11-17 in the US receive the vaccine? A bad awareness campaign certainly didn’t help.

When parents hear about this particular vaccine and the diseases it prevents, one question seemed to become a rallying cry against uptake—why do you assume my child is sexually active? The campaign seemed to force parents to face up to a (probably untrue and, to many, morally reprehensible) fact about their beloved little ones—they’re having sex. Along with the usual anti-vax campaigns, this one can be chalked up as a big loss for the medical community, underlining the dangers of mixing science, politics and values without providing a clear delineation or just focussing on . . . you know . . . the medical side of things.^[7][8]

Top 10 Signs We Are Entering A New Dark Age

5 BDS Movement Opposed by President of Palestine

What? That was what must have been the first word uttered by supporters of the ‘Boycott, Divestment and Sanction’ movement against the state of Israel when the President of Palestine said he did not support their wide-ranging, global campaign. Ooft, that’s got to hurt. Well, at least rock legend Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame supports the movement, right? Ok, that doesn’t really help…

Abbas did support a boycott of firms that operate out of the so-called ‘illegal’ settlements, the disputed territory where Israeli people have built homes. Makes sense. But Abbas, and many other people who oppose “Israeli aggression” and the BDS movement, realise that if Israel were to be brought to her knees economically, any possible outcome would be terrible for Palestine too. Well, it didn’t last. Abbas has since adopted the campaign as an official strategy of his administration. Yet another step towards peace in the Middle East. Wait…^[9][10]

4 The Burger King ‘DGAF’ Meals

Does a ‘Happy Meal’ make you happy? That is one of the points of the beloved fast food offering aimed at kids, I mean, it’s in the name. What about a ‘pissed meal’, fancy one of those? One would expect such a meal to contain a cold chicken sandwich, an empty box of fries, a thumb in your soda and an action figure of Al Gore. I’d be pissed. Burger King’s “Rea Meals” campaign aimed to normalize and raise awareness about mental health. Not schizophrenia, Borderline Personality Disorder or Drug Abuse induced Psychosis, don’t be silly. The campaign wanted to let the world know that people can feel a little ‘DGAF’ sometimes, and that’s OK. It’s tough to imagine a campaign that downplays the very thing it’s trying to boost more than this one. Now shut up and eat your Whopper.^[11]

3 Melania Trumps’s ‘Be Best’ Campaign for Better Social Media Use…Yeah.

This entry seems like a worse decision than Juicy Smulliet’s (ugh, for legal reasons I’ll say this—suspected) hoax hate-crime. Melania Trump knows who her husband is, surely? Maybe this campaign to help, in part, improve the nature of social media use is aimed at President Trump and his Tweets. But, to avoid this list being labelled as ‘fake news’, I must immediately retract the previous statement…

All in all, it was a noble cause. In the words of Mrs. Trump herself: “As we all know, social media can be both positively and negatively affect our children, but too often it is used in negative ways…When children learn positive online behaviours early on, social media can be used in productive ways and affect positive change.” Alright, let’s just move on to the next entry.^[12]

2 Anything Celebrities are Doing During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Ooft, I think my cringe bone has broken. Ricky Gervais must be spinning in his, uh, house. The current pandemic has really exposed the tenuous grasp humanity has on everything from law & order to logic, reason and the truth. One thing everyone seems to agree on is that our modern day gentry, Hollywood celebs, are awful at doing anything except what they are famous for. Remember when actors just acted? Singers sang? Me neither. It seems that a Hollywood celebrity can be as famous for speaking out for some cause de jour as they are for whichever movie they’re starring in alongside Dwayne Johnson.

We covered much of this on Top 10 Tone-Deaf Celebrity Coronavirus Messages That Are Cringey AF, but if you don’t have time to check it out here’s a summary: first off they sang a song, (‘Imagine’ by John Lennon) which advocates for a world without borders and nation states…during a pandemic which, as has been shown, is better combated by closing borders. Along with a slew of instagram stories, YouTube clips, Tweets and TokToks showing celebrities going a little bit loopy during quarantine, we saw the single most cringe-inducing video in response to the BLM protests. If you can watch the clip above without spasming so hard your retina detaches, you’re a woker man than I, bucko. Or buckette. Nobody is pleased, commentary from all sides of the political compass deriding these clueless elites and their self-serving faux flagellating. This is not unique to the current period though, they’ve been at it a while. Stop. For the love of Snoopy. Stop.^[13][14]

1 Lush take on the Police

This is probably the most controversial entry, (yes, even after I’ve talked about vaccines, the dreaded ‘Orange Man’, and the Israel Palestine situation, but stick with me on this). Cosmetics and Toiletry company Lush have a history of taking ethical stances (albeit often self-determined). They tend to be supportive of environmentalist issues, animal welfare stuff, transgender pronouns, and anything your local Green Party will stand for, so will Lush. You may disagree with their opinions on any given matter, but they do tend to stick to certain principles. On the other hand, they sell bath bombs…why should we care what they think or tolerate being preached to by a corporation who sell Karma Kream body lotion?

The now infamous #SpyCops campaign, raising awareness of honey trap tactics used by police in Britain against environmentalist activists, certainly got people talking. In the main, the loudest voices were in support of the police, viewing the whole campaign as unfair and anti-police, too general in the messaging. Stats show, however, that Lush’s numbers didn’t take the hit that many commentators expected in light of the negative PR situation; defenders of the company are keen to point out that their numbers went up in the period after #SpyCops. But was that the point? I thought it was about spying cops? Ah, whatever, Karma Kream is lush, I’m off to the powder room.^[15][16]

Top 10 Origins Of Controversial Stereotypes

About The Author: C.J. Phillips is a storyteller, actor and writer living in rural West Wales. He is a little obsessed with lists.

Marketing is the lifeblood of sales. Unless a brand has already established itself as a dominant force in the market, it will be difficult for the public to react positively to its product launch without some form of marketing.

Sometimes, products perform well in the market solely because of an optimized marketing effort. This is the reason why every industry invests in marketing. In the world of video games, there have been successful and unsuccessful marketing campaigns. What we are, however, not prepared for are bizarre marketing campaigns. These marketing efforts are very strange and far from the usual. Some of these campaigns were so unusual that they attracted criticism and even law enforcement.

Here are ten of the most bizarre video game marketing campaigns.

10 Call of Duty: Black Ops III Issues Fake Terror Alert

The makers of Call of Duty went too far when they live-tweeted that a terror attack was taking place in Singapore. The false claim was only a publicity stunt to introduce their new game Call of Duty: Black Ops III. First, it is very unusual for a video game maker to make false terrorist attack claims, but what we find more bizarre is that this extraordinary publicity stunt was totally unnecessary. Call of Duty was already a successful video game franchise.

The marketing campaign backfired quickly, with many people responding on Twitter that the publicity stunt was in poor taste. Most people would agree that the video game maker could have done better, considering terrorist attacks do take place in the real world, and the fear of terrorism exists all over the world. There is no doubt that this marketing campaign was downright bizarre.^[1]

9 Electronic Arts Causes Gridlock in London with Mercenaries 2: World in Flames

The plot of the game Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is straightforward. The protagonist’s aim is to kill the President of Venezuela. Since the plot of the game also involves Venezuelan oil facilities, the marketers of the game actually tied the game to a physical gas station, or maybe they were trying to set the world aflame for real—we may never know for sure. One thing we know is that there was a marketing stunt to promote the game that involved £20,000 worth of free fuel at a single gas station.

The line of cars going to this gas station was very long, and drivers started having altercations. Each driver received £40 of free fuel from the marketers of the game. It didn’t take long before police shut down Electronic Arts’ operations due to the ensuing chaos. In fact, a member of the British Parliament demanded an apology from Electronic Arts, claiming that the video game publishers were trying to cause Venezuelan-style fuel riots in London. Any marketing campaign that gets the attention of the police and triggers a request for an apology from an MP is an unusual one. This is the most considerate way we can tag the promotion.^[2]

The previous week, the same promo seemed to have gone off without a hitch in the U.S. A La Cienega Blvd. gas station in Los Angeles saw actors hired as mercenaries with signs offering the free gas and helping with directing cars.

8 Zynga Vandalizes City Sidewalks with Counterfeit Money

Despite being an online game heavyweight, Zynga let us down with its ridiculous attempt to promote the game Mafia Wars. The company glued fake promotional bills to the sidewalks of Manhattan. This is nothing but vandalization of public property. At one point, the San Francisco City Attorney’s office had to open an investigation into the ignominious act. Besides the counterfeit money Zynga put into circulation, marketers also produced decals depicting gang violence to market the video game. They also glued the bills to the sidewalks in Manhattan, even after receiving a rebuke for the stunt in the City by the Bay.

The Deputy City Attorney called the marketing campaign “illegal and actionable.” Not mincing words about this incident—any marketing campaign that warrants rebuke from the City Attorney’s office is an odd campaign. ^[3]

7 Electronic Arts Stages Protest Against Its Own Game

Just when we think that we have seen the worst of it, we are confronted with another weird video game promotion strategy that we cannot wrap our heads around. This is the second time we find Electronic Arts on our list for a similar reason. In 2009, the game publisher hired a group of 20 fake protesters to demonstrate outside the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles to protest the upcoming game Dante’s Inferno.

The most ridiculous thing about this incident is that these fake protesters found the perfect excuse to stage their protest—religion! According to these jokers, the upcoming game glorified eternal damnation. The fake protesters held up picket signs asking people to “Trade in Your Playstation for a Praystation.” In a strange twist of events, Electronic Arts turned around to admit that the protest was fake and staged by their marketing agency.^[4]

6 Splinter Cell: Conviction Roleplay Leads to Police Intervention

Splinter Cell: Conviction is an action-adventure game that emphasizes stealth; however, the promotional stunt for the game went too far and nearly led to death. In Auckland, New Zealand, a man with bandages on his hand threatened the patrons of a bar with a fake gun, and police were immediately called to the scene. What we find very bizarre about this particular marketing campaign is that even the police officers that responded could not immediately determine that the gun being brandished by the promotions worker was fake until it was retrieved from him.

We find ourselves asking some questions: what if the police had been trigger-happy and fired at sight? What would have happened to the promotions worker? Is death a justifiable end for a video game marketing campaign? No matter how hard we tried, finding an answer wouldn’t be an easy task. But we are certain that this video game promotion effort is far from the usual.^[5]

5 Bethesda Wants to Give a Baby a Dragon-Themed Name

Bethesda is the video game company that produced the game The Elder Scrolls V.Skyrim. The company announced a contest for any child born on the day the game was launched. The catch was the parents had to name the child “Dovahkiin,” which translates to “Dragonborn” in dragon language. If the parents did this, the child would win Bethesda games for life. Coincidentally, parents Megan and Eric Kellermeyer welcomed their baby on November 11, 2011, at 6:08 pm—the same day the game was launched. And as they longed to give their baby a unique name, the contest just happened to have been announced at the most appropriate time.

You can’t deny this might be a marketing campaign taken too far. It is downright bizarre that a company would encourage parents to burden their child with such a name. While we can’t guess exactly what was going on in the minds of Megan and Eric Kellermeyer, whatever was in there was absolutely unusual. Can you hear the teasing on the playground already? However, it shouldn’t surprise you that this campaign has been done before. In 2018, KFC offered a college scholarship for the first child born on Colonel Sanders’s birthday to be named Harland (the Colonel’s first name). So now little Harland Rose will have money when she’s old enough for college. Well, at least it wasn’t Dovahkiin. Poor kid!^[6]

4 Resident Evil 6 Experiments with a Weird Meat

In order to promote Resident Evil 6, Capcom, the company that produced the game, decided to embark on a very unusual promotional tactic. This promo involved the creation of a butcher shop with meat that looked like human flesh. The butcher shop was called “Wesker & Son.” The meat on sale was actually edible animal meat carefully constructed by a food artist to look like human body parts. The butcher shop was open for two days before it closed.

There is another bizarre development relating to the launch of Resident Evil 6. The first marketing stunt involved the creation of fake murder scenes in front of popular media businesses in London.^[7]

3 Acclaim Painted Pigeons for Virtua Tennis 2

Acclaim used a weird and unusual marketing stunt to introduce its game, Virtua Tennis 2, to the world. The company painted homing pigeons with the game’s logo and released the pigeons over Wimbledon. This particular marketing campaign was directed at tennis enthusiasts, considering the chosen venue. Although Wimbledon is already famous for the occasional descent of pigeons, this would be the first time that people would get to see a painted pigeon, especially one that bears a message.

Some will never forget this unusual advertisement stunt. If only video game marketers used their power for good instead of painting the poor, innocent pigeons.^[8]

2 Acclaim Offers to Pay Parents to Name Their Child Turok

Acclaim is here again! The New York-based video game publisher started a contest, offering $10,000 to the first parent to name their newborn child after the dinosaur-slaying hero in its upcoming game Turok: Evolution. In order for the parent(s) to qualify for the prize, the child must be named Turok. There is an understandable reason why we consider this a bizarre form of marketing—the poor child is saddled with the name and has to answer to it. Makes you wonder what’s going on in the minds of these parents.

It’s also worth noting that Acclaim Entertainment as a company has gotten excellent results from such unconventional marketing efforts before this particular move. In the same month that the company announced the “Turok” challenge, it received thousands of responses when it offered £500 and an Xbox game console to anyone in Britain who was willing to change their legal name to Turok. We’ll never know if these people were in love with the name or just keen to take any prize, no matter how small.

Surprisingly, an Acclaim spokesman, Alan Lewis, said that the unusual promotional tactic was the only way to survive in the world of video games because of the stiffening competition. In 2020, a staff writer for VG247 decided to track down the five people who were reported to have received the prize money. After numerous dead ends, he stumbled upon the truth. All five people were actors who had been paid to claim they had changed their name. No one actually had done it. But still, it garnered a lot of buzz at the initial campaign rollout.^[9]

1 Mass Effect 3 Discs Shot into Space

This is the most unusual of them all and deserves the number one spot. Electronic Arts gave fans of the game Mass Effect 3 the opportunity to play the game early in a unique way. The first copies of the game were carried up into space by weather balloons which later released them. People on the ground could track the falling games thanks to attached GPS devices.

Fans could also monitor where the nearest game landed. The targeted cities were New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Berlin, London, and Paris. What a fan needed to do to get any of the copies was to create an EA (Electronic Arts) online account, then track down copies of the game as they fell to Earth using EA’s GPS system. Once the game landed, it became an open race. The first set of fans to get to the landing sites would get all the available copies on a first-come basis. While we commend Electronic Arts for this exceptional display of technological proficiency, we find it downright bizarre that a video game company would send video games to outer space.^[10]