Bold Stunts and Bad Taste Mark '12's Best, Worst Ads

As marketers recognized social media's value in getting consumers talking about a brand, Madison Avenue went to great lengths—and heights—to pull off elaborate stunts that could generate online buzz.

Energy-drink maker Red Bull, sponsored a much-hyped sky-dive from space. Earlier in the year, 007 parachuted with a Queen Elizabeth double into the Summer Olympics' opening ceremony, jump-start buzz for the Bond film "Skyfall."

"If people aren't talking about your brand, then you don't exist," said Rob Schwartz, global creative president at Omnicom Group Inc.'s TBWAChiatDay.
Still, the proliferation of exotic marketing stunts didn't translate into big increases in spending. Chief marketing officers pushed ad agencies to do more with less, said ad agency executives.
Here are our choices for some of 2012's best and worst:
The Best
Out of This World
Client:Red Bull GmbH
Agency: In-house
Pitch: Red Bull sponsored Felix Baumgartner's sky-dive from space. The drink maker's logo was featured prominently as a world record was set for the highest parachute jump.
Feedback: Red Bull won't comment about its marketing effort, but Visible Measures Corp., which tracks online viewership, said footage and videos related to the event received 171 million views across the Web.
A Dollar and a Dream
Client:Dollarshaveclub.com
Agency: In-house
Pitch: A video showed the company's founder riding on a forklift, dancing with a man in a bear suit and poking fun at the $13 billion razorblade market.
Feedback: The video cost about $4,500 to create. After it ran on YouTube, Dollarshaveclub's website crashed because of an influx of traffic. The company said it gained 25,000 members within the first week of posting the video, although it won't disclose sales or revenue. The company recently announced an additional $10 million in funding led by Venrock.
Cultivating Customers
Client: Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.
Agency: Creative Artists Agency's CAA Marketing
Pitch: An animated two-minute film showed a farmer switching to more environmentally friendly farming practices, eschewing the factory farm, as Willie Nelson crooned in the background. The ad, which ran during the Grammys, was the first national TV commercial for the fast-food chain.
Feedback: The ad hit a sweet spot with consumers, who are increasingly interested in the origins of their food. The video was viewed seven million times on YouTube, and CAA said that the buzz contributed to a 23% increase in revenue during the first half of 2012. People have dressed up in costumes that look like characters in the spot.
Making Chrysler's Day
Client:Chrysler Group LLC
Agency:Wieden + Kennedy
Pitch: A two-minute Super Bowl ad dubbed "It's Halftime in America" featured Clint Eastwood trying to rally the country.
Feedback: The spot received more than 12 million views on YouTube, generated 112,000 comments on social media and was nominated for an Emmy. The spot became fodder for late- night talk shows and spurred skits on "Saturday Night Live."
Stealing Thunder
Client: Samsung Electronics Co.
Agency: MDC Partners Inc.'s 72 & Sunny
Pitch: Samsung released its "The Next Big Thing is Already Here" ad just as the iPhone 5 was being introduced. The ad mocked Apple fanboys who are shown in the spot waiting in line to buy the new phone. One guy who is using his Galaxy S III while standing in the line reveals he was saving a spot for someone else, who at the end of the ad is identified as his parents.
Feedback: The ad has had more than 22 million views. Samsung said the ad generated 90% positive sentiment.
The Worst
Sour Apple
Client: Apple Inc.
Agency: TBWAChiatDay
Pitch: Several commercials featured a young male playing a staffer from the Apple "Genius Bar" who comes to the rescue of consumers lacking tech skills. In one spot, the man helps an airline passenger rushing to make an iMovie as an anniversary present before he lands.
Feedback: The ads fell short of Apple's usual ability to entertain the audience. BlueFin Labs, a firm that tracks consumer comments on social media, said comments about the ads were 3.4 times more negative than positive. The ads were eventually pulled because they weren't well-received and unlike other Apple ads oversold the company's services, according to a person familiar with the matter. Apple declined to comment.
Fuzzy Image
Client: Nokia Corp.
Pitch: To promote its Lumia 920 Windows phone and the device's PureView camera, the company created a promotional video that appeared on the Web to show that its camera was superior to competitors.
Feedback: The video wasn't actually shot with a Lumia, but rather with a hand-held video camera and lighting rig. The company apologized for misleading marketing. "While there was no intention to mislead, the failure to add a disclaimer to the video was obviously a mistake," the company said at the time.
Cheezy Stunt
Client: Yum Brands Inc.'s Pizza Hut
Agency:Zeno Group
Pitch: As part of a public-relations stunt the fast-food chain asked those attending the Town Hall presidential debate at Hofstra University to ask President Obama and Mitt Romney if they preferred sausage or pepperoni on their pizza. The prize for those willing to ask the tough question: pizza for life.
Feedback: While no one actually asked the question during the debate, media pundits bashed the stunt. During the "Colbert Report," Stephen Colbert said, "What could be more American than using our electoral process for product placement?" The company eventually moved the topping question to the Web and selected a random voter to win the lifetime pizza supply. "We pay closest attention to our fans, and they overwhelmingly had fun with the campaign," said a Pizza Hut spokesman. On the night of the debate, thousands of tweets mentioned it, with comments like, "I'm only watching this debate to see if someone asks the pepperoni or sausage question" or "I'm bored. Someone please ask the Pizza Hut question," according to the spokesman.
Anything but Smooth
Client: LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA's Belvedere Vodka
Agency: N/A
Pitch: The company posted an ad on Twitter and on its Facebook page that showed a grinning man grabbing a shocked-looking woman from behind. The headline: "Unlike some People, Belvedere Always Goes Down Smoothly."
Feedback: Many people complained the ad implied a rape scene. Charles Gibb, the president of Belvedere, apologized on Facebook: "I would like to personally apologize for the offensive post that recently appeared on our Facebook page. It should never have happened." The company also said it would make a donation to an anti-sexual-violence organization.
Making a Hash of It
Client: McDonald's Corp.
Agency: Interpublic Group's Golin Harris
Pitch: The fast-food chain began a campaign on Twitter to promote the quality of its ingredients using promoted tweets, which carried hashtags such as #McDStories.
Feedback: Some consumers jumped in, but used the hashtag to air their complaints about the company. One person complained about getting food poisoning while another talked about losing 50 pounds after quitting work at a McDonald's. The fast-food chain quickly pulled down the campaign. "It was a minor issue," said Rick Wion, McDonald's director of social media. "Those weren't customers but just critics who weren't coming to our restaurant," he added. The program generated about 72,000 tweets in one day, of which about 2,000 were negative, Mr. Wion said.