Advertising is a powerful tool for brands. Successful advertising will be unforgettable and help to develop brand identity, but over the years there have been many advertising campaigns that have been unforgettable for all the wrong reasons. These campaigns have shocked, upset, angered and painted the brand in a less than favorable light, and many of these companies have struggled to recover from such high profile blunders. How some of these campaigns saw the light of day is baffling, but the impact they have had (even though undesirable) demonstrates the sheer power and reach that advertising has for businesses.
10. La Redoute – Naked Man in Background
Despite being left slightly embarrassed by this blunder and having to apologize, the advertising mistake soon became an internet sensation and it could well have worked very favorably for the French fashion chain. The saying “there is no such thing as bad publicity” could be applied here, but not to all of the fails on this list. The blunder from La Redoute was on an advert for their children’s clothing line which saw a group of kids on the beach, but in the background there is a completely naked man wading in the water. This was supposed to have been airbrushed out of the photo, but once it went up online it was too late. It was taken down shortly after and an apology was made. In typical fashion, internet users began inserting the now-famous naked bather into famous world photos.
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2012/01/04/la-redoute-accidentally-includes-picture-naked-man-childrens%E2%80%99-clothes-marketing Source: Thedrum.com