13 Brands That Addressed Sensitive Issues In Cringeworthy Ways

Brands will exploit tragedy to make a buck.
13 Brands That Addressed Sensitive Issues In Cringeworthy Ways

The purpose of brands is to make money, which makes any attempt at addressing deep-seated social issues already suspect. Add additional bad judgment (and most likely a homogenous workplace), and, bam, you've got yourself an ad worthy of some serious cringe. Here are some examples of ways brands have addressed (or failed to consider) sensitive topics. Just a warning, they are seriously offensive.

Accidental domestic abuse endorsement TORONTO ARGONAUTS OPENER. H HOME IS WHERE ALL A THE HEART iS. RONA NISSAN 2N IT'S ALSO WHERE WE 95 2s Hurt peaple. DE HA -CRACKEDCO ALL Football has a ong-running continued issue with family violence, which makes this poorly-worded ad for the Toronto Argonauts even
Pepsi commercializes Black Lives Matter PEPSI In the 2017 commercial, millionaire Kendall Jenner walks through a crowd of protestors to give a can of soda to a cop, and everyone cheers as systemic inequality is solved!
Nivea made a white supremacy ad. NIVEA WHITE IS PURITY L The Facebook ad ran with the caption, Keep it clean, keep it bright. Don't let anything ruin it and was targeted to customers in the Middle East.

Nivea

Nivea made another racist ad. NIVEA HIVEA 4 BE.CIVI RE-CIILIZE YOURSEI CRACKED COM The 2011 magazine ad states that havinng a beard and an afro is uncivilzed in this terribly racist ad, which they eventually pulled after backlash.
DiGiorno jumped on a domestic abuse hashtag DIGIORNO DiGiorno Pizza @DiGiornoPizza #WhyIStayed You had pizza. 9/8/14, 11.11 PM CRAGKEDOOM The social media person or DiGiorno clearly didn't do their research before tweeting out a joke on a trending hashtag. The hashtag was in defense of domestic abuse victims.

UNICEF

UNICEF used kids in blackface to raise money UNICEF N AFRIKA WURBEN SICH VIELE KINDER FREUEN, WENN SIE SICH UBER DIE SCHULE ARGERN KONNTEN. CRACKED This 2007 German ad campaign was to raise money to build schools in Africa. UNICEF had even focus-tested the ads without realizing how terribly racist
Anatomicals uses suicide to brand ANATOMICALS amatoioalls dark peachy Mair head peach shampoo for Sn Toallw itie suicidal ots hut puut thaat doe >00 ob meveer remine my hair actuatiy tosine itettott draaiic the betow. completely YOu CRACKEDO The UK beauty brand once sold at Urban Outfitters makes light
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