May Marketing Round Up

Yeehaw, here we go with another marketing round up! (We’re going to lean into the cowboy theme for summer, sue us). Interestingly, the ads we came across in May predominantly missed the message. There’s nothing more entertaining than pointing out failures, so let’s get into it! 

FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES 

Let’s start off on a positive note. For its sixth entry in the horror movie franchise, Final Destination: Bloodlines has decided to take one of the most dramatic and terrifying deaths from the series (movie two in case you were wondering) and turn it into mobile billboards, which have been spotted from New Brunswick to BC and all throughout the States too.

After traumatizing an entire generation, ensuring they never drive behind a logging truck (or get close to a swimming pool drain, or do gymnastics, or use a tanning bed), Final Destination is banking on nostalgia and a shared Millennial experience to ensure theatres were packed on May 16th. 

Okay now we’re doing a 180. Thus far, our marketing round ups have focused on successful creative campaigns. But we think it’s time to talk about FAILURE. 

A SWING AND A MISS 

Do you know Max rebranded BACK to HBO Max? Do you even care? As Canadians, this rebrand is even less relevant to us as we don’t even have access to HBO subscriptions. Crave is our substitute. But south of the border, this is what’s happened. 

Why go backwards? “HBO” carries the prestige of being the gold standard of premium TV, (even back when it was premium cable (Crying emoji)). "Max" lacks the instant recognition and failed to impress audiences, as evidenced by the fact most of their viewers continued to refer to the service by its deadname. 

The shift back to HBO Max is a smart move, because it enables HBO to reclaim and strengthen their previous brand clarity. It’s also a great case study in the fact that sometimes a brand has to do what its audience wants, because there's no winning. It’s another case where branding didn't take.

CRASH AND BURN 

Okay let’s dive into a HUGE failure. Coca Cola, easily one of the most (if not THE most) recognized brands in the world, really stumbled with their most recent campaign. The idea was to highlight classic authors and their mentions of coke in their writing from previous centuries. To achieve this, they implemented AI to scan as much as they possibly could. 

The result: the most embarrassingly incorrect references you could possibly imagine. From incorrect quotes, to incorrectly referenced novels, all the way up to the AI creating fictional authors. But this is where it gets SO funny. These errors could have been caught with the most basic human proofreading and fact-checking, but instead they went straight to print/launch. 

A BRAND THAT HAS MORE MONEY THAN A SMALL COUNTRY, AND THEY COULDN’T HAVE PAID AN INTERN TO READ THIS? FAIL. 

It’s also amusing because Coca Cola took a lot of heat in November 2024 for their AI generated holiday ad. It featured all the classic Coke holiday imagery, a rosy cheeked Santa, happy polar bears, and a toy train going around the snowy, Christmas light-lit North Pole. The ad didn’t sit well with consumers because the brand didn’t pay a team of artists to create it. 

And now here we are. Coke ignored the polar bear feedback and decided to double-down on AI ads (fuck around) and now they’re paying the price (find out). 

If you want to avoid a marketing disaster, it might be time to go Rogue! Get in touch with our team and we’ll help you create a marketing strategy or campaign that won't spectacularly blow up in your face.