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Feb 7, 2017

Super Bowl stinkers: The ads Campaign's global creative council hated

Our team of international creative experts was unimpressed with "gross" toilet humor, "cheesy innuendo" and "heavy-handed clichés."

Super Bowl stinkers: The ads Campaign's global creative council hated

To help us judge the Super Bowl LI commercials, Campaign recruited a team of global creative leaders not afraid to share an opinion. We revealed their favorite ads from the game, including Squarespace, Budweiser and Audi.

Now, let's talk stinkers.

"Man, you are at the Super Bowl! Make it count," wrote Fernando Machado, SVP, global brand management, Burger King. Though Machado struggled to name a single least-favorite ad, he made it clear there were many lousy ones to choose from. "Silly jokes, poor branding, zero-added-value spots should be avoided."

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Here are the group's least-favorite spots from Sunday's game, presented in no particular order:

Febreze, "Halftime Bathroom Break"

Doerte Spengler-Ahrens, CCO, Jung von Matt/Elbe, Hamburg: "Please apologize for the play on words: It is a 'stinker' because it stinks ... Too much information brought in a 'smelly' way filmed in a bathroom—arrghhhh!"

Raj Kamble, founder/CCO, Famous Innovations, India: "Gross. Just gross. I'm sure someone somewhere thought this was insightful and funny and refreshing and all those things. But I don't think anyone wants to watch this ode to taking a dump on television."



Yellow Tail, "Yellow Tail Guy"

Jureeporn Thaidumrong, CCO, Grey NudeJeh, Thailand: "Poor production values, the ad looks dated, and just left me baffled ... I don't know who they are targeting, and I don't know what they are trying to say. And it looks cheap ... the ad and the wine."

Margaret Johnson, CCO, Goodby Silverstein & Partners: "Why it flopped? Cheesy innuendo: "Wanna pet my roo?" "Sure, I'll pet your roo." Not to mention the animatronic kangaroo."



LifeWtr, "Inspiration Drops"

Jason Bagley, executive creative director, Wieden+Kennedy Portland: "The Lifewtr spot was one of the cheesiest, most heavy-handed spots I've ever seen. It's so full of heavy-handed clichés that it's almost offensive."

Jureeporn Thaidumrong, CCO, Grey NudeJeh, Thailand: "I find it just wrong for a water brand, and the ad doesn't make me want to drink it. Rain turning into paint and kids drinking it? Seriously? Can I please get some H2O instead? It just doesn't make it for me."



Fiji, "Nature's Gift"

Tham Khai Meng, worldwide CCO, Ogilvy: "Fiji Water bottled a whole bunch of tone-deafness right at the source with their ad. Fiji claims to honor nature by leaving it alone, and then proceeds to ship water in plastic bottles halfway around the world. This work made a great brand look bad."



Evony, "The King's Return"

Jason Bagley, executive creative director, Wieden+Kennedy Portland: "It's not that the Evony spot is so terrible, it's that it's a crime to spend that much on celebrities and production for a spot that has no real concept or creative hook."



Snickers, "Live Super Bowl Commercial"

Lars Bastholm, global CCO, Google Zoo: "The biggest fail of the night was probably Snickers' attempt at doing a live spot. Hats off for bravery, but it just didn't work on any level."

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Campaign US
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