15 Marketing Campaigns That Caused Death And Ruin

Marketing: 1; Human Decency: 0.
15 Marketing Campaigns That Caused Death And Ruin

From deadly contests to poisonous products, this list has it all. So sit back, relax, and enjoy as I regale you with tales of corporate woe.

First up is the Noid. The Noid was a short-lived mascot for Domino's Pizza who met an untimely end at the hands of a crazed fan. In 1986, Domino's Pizza introduced an advertising campaign featuring the "Noid", an anthropomorphic creature. The ads ran until 1989, when one Kenneth Noid took two employees hostage at gunpoint in protest of what he believed was harassment from the company. 

Next on our list is Camel cigarettes. If you want a cigarette that will kill you slowly but surely, Camel is definitely the brand for you! For years tobacco companies have relied on doctor's endorsements to sell their products - giving way to decades of health concerns down the line. And speaking of doctors... did you know that X-rays were once used to help people pick out shoes? That's right - before we knew about things like radiation poisoning, shoe store clerks would zap customers with x-rays in order to help them find the perfect fit.

Cellophane may be hazardous to your child's health.

CRACKED Cellophane baby swaddlers. In the 1950s, Du Pont Cellophane ran a series of ads portraying babies and young children wrapped in their cellophane. These advertisements were eventually discontinued around the same time that warnings about infant suffocation from plastics became more common. DUPONT

Vintage

"Lysol: a gentle feminine hygiene product... that will kill you."

CRACKED Totally safe and gentle for your lady parts... probably. In the early 20th century, Lysol was marketed as a feminine hygiene product and hundreds of women were poisoned as a result. In 1911 doctors had recorded 193 Lysol poisonings and five deaths from uterine irrigation. Despite reports to the contrary, Lysol was aggressively marketed to women as safe and gentle. Lysol® The Poise BRAND that Knowledge Gives Bilnner is love to the - - of des best wellibking so and to facts make these to the makers of Les Disidentiant have prepared box FASTIDIOUST well groomed detail 00 Imizine Hypear.

Smithsonian Mag

"Parents, are you giving your kids a soft drink with no nutritional value?"

CRACKED Babies guzzling soda. In the 1950s, 7-Up ran an ad campaign that featured babies guzzling the drink. The company proudly claims that its ingredients are listed on its bottles even though it's not required of soft drinks. However, 7-UP has no vitamin or mineral content and has zero nutritional value. 7CUP

Vintage

The paint companies knew the dangers of their product, but they didn't care as long as they were making money.

CRACKED In a new low for capitalism, paint companies used children in advertisements to sell lead-based paint. For years, paint companies continued to use children in advertisements for lead-based paint and leaded pigments, despite knowing the dangers it posed to their health. In an effort to increase sales of their products, representatives from these companies traveled around the country promoting the use of lead-based paints in schools with no mention of its toxicity.

Projo / Zotapro 

A weight-loss solution in the early 1900s led to severe malnutrition and death in many cases.

CRACKED Don't worry about those extra pounds - just pick up a tapeworm. In the early 1900s, tapeworms were marketed as a weight-loss solution. The thinking was that the worm would eat all of its host's food, leading to rapid and extreme weight loss. Unfortunately, this also led to severe malnutrition and death in many cases.

HuffPost / The Guardian  

ASKfm killed one of four men hired to scale Mount Everest and bury two cryptocurrency wallets as part of a publicity stunt.

CRACKED A cryptocurrency enthusiast died on Mount Everest. A publicity stunt-gone-wrong killed one of the four cryptocurrency enthusiasts that were hired to scale Mount Everest and bury two hardware wallets containing $50,000 worth of ASKT tokens. The company got backlash for their lack of transparency surrounding the death. 0,0 askfm

Yahoo

KDND's "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest takes a tragic turn.

CRACKED Hold Your Wee for a Wii killed a woman. In 2007, KDND ran a contest called Hold Your Wee for a Wii, where the person who drank the most water without peeing would win a $250 Wii video game system. The station urged contestants to drink as much water as they could, resulting in the death of 28 year old Jennifer Lea Strange by water intoxication. !!M e-107.9 A the end Wii all the hits GAME INCLU JEU INCLUS! JUEGO INCLUIDO Wii

Source

"Number Fever" seemed like a great idea at the time.

CRACKED Number Fever resulted in riots, five deaths, and dozens of injuries. In the Philippines, a marketing disaster in 1992 led to riots, five deaths, and dozens of injuries - all because people were desperate for a chance to win $68,000. Pepsi's Number Fever campaign promised 18 new millionaires, but when the final number was announced, it turned out that over 600,000 people had the winning number, 349. LIPPINES, INC. ATION Bro. Bhamble PEPSI Santos iden L BOYCOTT BOYCO SI PS OTT ВОУСОТ S EP BOYCOT S 49 BOYCOTT LLIANS PEPS PEPSI 349 ALLIANCE 349 ALI

Bloomberg

The Shoe-Fitting Fluoroscope: Because who doesn't love a little extra radiation with their new shoes?

CRACKED X-rays were once used to help people pick out the perfect-fitting shoes. The shoe-fitting fluoroscope was an X-ray machine used in shoe stores to help with proper sizing. However, the unregulated radiation exposure put countless customers and clerks at risk for ailments including dermatitis, cataracts, and cancer.

Spectrum

If you want a cigarette that will kill you slowly, efficiently, and with the approval of your peers, Camel is the brand for you.

CRACKED Doctors' carcinogen of choice. From the 1946 ad campaign claiming More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette, to ads in medical journals in the '40s and '50s, tobacco companies have long relied on doctor's endorsements to sell their products. This marketing strategy gave way to decades of health concerns. Three nationally known independent research CAMEL organizations did the asking. The answers come in by the thousands Actual state- ments from doctors themselves Figures were checked and re-checked! The results? Comels ...convincingly!

Saturday Evening Post

The Noid was a short-lived mascot for Domino's Pizza.

CRACKED The Noid caused a paranoia-fuelled hostage situation. In 1986, Domino's Pizza introduced an advertising campaign featuring The Noid, an anthropomorphic ...creature of some sort. The ads ran for 3 years, until a guy named Kenneth Noid took two employees hostage at gunpoint in protest of what he believed was harassment from the company. Domino's Pizza N S.O

LA Times / Slate 

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

VIRAL ON CRACKED

A WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER OF
JOKES + TRIVIA

Forgot Password?