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Advertising is meant to grab attention—just not like this. From signs with unfortunate typos to digital screens frozen on the computer’s Windows desktop, these blunders prove even the biggest brands can make a fool of themselves. Of course, not every failure comes from poor judgment or inexperience. Some are simply the result of bad luck. But when you’re addressing the public, it’s your responsibility to ensure that the message lands as intended. If it doesn’t… Well, that one’s on you.

#1 Your Business Does What?

Image credits: karvup

#2 Please Donate Your Bloob

Image credits: RandoTrom

Thirteen experts from the Forbes Agency Council identify confusing and annoying content as the number one reason why advertising campaigns fail.

According to them, when messages feel scattered or dishonest, audiences quickly lose patience and trust.

Other major pitfalls include delivering campaigns in antagonistic environments that diminish user experience, attempting to exploit tragedies or political trends without careful thought, and relying on clickbait.

#3 At My Local Optometrist

Image credits: the_QT

#4 Whoever Edited This Advertisement Never Saw A Human Foot

Image credits: victim80

#5 Accepting Resume

Image credits: DoTal

But internet ads have become especially irritating. It seems it’s no longer possible to watch an online video or read an article without being interrupted every few seconds.

According to a survey from user-first media platform Picnic, in partnership with global public opinion company YouGov, two-thirds of people (70%) find digital advertising annoying and unpleasant, and 72% say that bad advertising experiences have negatively affected their perception of a brand.

#6 The Rewards Of Hypnotherapy

Image credits: goobzilla91

#7 Spotted In The UK

Image credits: Gibsy92

#8 The Poster People Didn’t Really Think This Through

Image credits: imgur.com

#9 That’s A Lot Of Legs For Three Women

Image credits: werschaf

When the respondents were asked to identify the most annoying user experience, most of them said it was “too many ads” (28%) and “blocked screen content” (28%), followed by accidental clicks (18%), slow loading speeds (12%), unstable page content (7%), and other (7%).

#10 Poor Cat

Image credits: imgur.com

#11 Maybe Not The Best Two Billboards Right Next To Each Other… Just Sayin

Image credits: imgur.com

#12 Pole Sign “Ads”

Image credits: I_need_rest

#13 “Challenge Accepted”

Image credits: paddypower

Other key findings from the survey include:

66% say annoying or intrusive ad experiences reduce their trust in the brand advertising;
71% agree that annoying or intrusive ad experiences make them less likely to purchase from that brand in the future;
86% of people agree that too many ads on a webpage makes them feel overwhelmed and more likely to ignore the adverts;
71% of people agree they’d have a more positive perspective of digital ads if they loaded quickly and didn’t force clicks or block content.

#14 Win A Dream Holiday

Image credits: soralan

#15 Ad For Chocolate Milk

Image credits: IAmTjums

#16 I Stood There Pointing And Laughing Until I Realized There Were People Behind The Window

Image credits: imgur.com

#17 I Bought A Billboard To Promote My Business And They Screwed Up The Formatting

Image credits: bencahn

Some industry insiders are trying to shake off the blame. “With regulations limiting first-party data and platforms promoting broad targeting, many advertisers are forced to rely on poor-quality, unverified third-party data sources,” says Anil Malhotra, CMO & co-founder of Bango, a technology company that specializes in helping businesses monetize digital content and services.

“This leaves them taking a spray and pray approach in hopes of connecting with new audiences.”

#18 Whoever Designed This Flyer Had No Concept Of Before And After

Image credits: Huckleberry_Sin

#19 It Looks Like Pete Davidson And Steve Buscemi Had A Baby

Image credits: A_gulll

#20 A Costly But Funny Mistake

Image credits: chetporter

#21 This Poster In A Mall. This Guy Is The Only True Fanboy

Image credits: Snoo39982

But Malhotra agrees there has to be a better way. “Advertising must get adventurous again—trialling new innovations and targeting methods for their ads. The rewards for advertisers—and the brands they work for—will pay dividends in the form of increased customer loyalty.”

Once you’re done scrolling through this list, you can continue learning about ad fails by firing up our previous publications 40 Epic Advertising Fails That Probably Should Have Gotten Someone Fired and 50 Hilarious Advertising Fails You Might Find Hard To Believe Were Actually Approved.