9 Promotions That Cost Famous Companies Millions of Dollars

Marketing experts know that people are always attracted to bright colors, pleasant voices and, of course, discounts. These and many other details are always present in commercials and major campaigns. But don’t think that companies are always right; sometimes they get it wrong and the mistake can cost millions of dollars.

Check now the most absurd miscalculations made by famous companies.

The biggest technology company in the world and one of the biggest pop rock bands on the planet combined. There was no way to go wrong. It just did. In 2014, Apple, betting on the popularity of the band U2, signed a contract with the Irish group to release their album Songs of Innocence on its platforms. There was only one detail: users of Apple devices that were configured for automatic download had the disk downloaded without being asked if they wanted it or not. As a result, 500 million accounts on the iTunes platform received the heavy file with the disk’s contents, occupying a good part of the available memory. The result was a flood of complaints.

But the biggest problem was that the disc was not free for Apple. The company spent $100 million on marketing alone and paid another $100 million to Bono and company. Later, the giant created by Steve Jobs allowed songs to be deleted from devices.

In 2010, the British company Walkers Crisp (manufacturer of Lay’s potato in the United Kingdom), decided to carry out a different promotion: if a person bought a bag of potatoes for about 65 cents, they could predict when it would rain. If the prediction came true, the buyer won £10 (about $16).

The problem was that the promotion was made in England, where it almost always rains or is cloudy, especially in autumn. Therefore, in a very rainy week, almost all predictions came true. It was just predicting rain and there was no mistake. In just 7 days the company lost more than 1 million pounds — about 5 million reais. Of course, there was a positive side, as the promotion was successful and people started to have the brand in their minds.

On September 27, 1986, the American company United Way decided to break the world record by launching 1.5 million balloons, and use the feat as publicity. In the city of Cleveland, 2,500 people filled thousands of balloons with helium gas, and when the roof of the launch site was opened, the balloons were released. The image was beautiful, but it only lasted a few minutes.

No one paid any attention to the rain at that time. Some balloons stayed and others were carried by the wind across the city. As a result, urban transport stopped and the airport’s runways were closed (video), in addition to the city’s port.

The incident caused the death of 2 boatmen, who were not found due to the large amount of balloons. The wife of one of the victims sued the company and won $3 million. In addition, the company had to pay a large fine to repair the damage caused in the city.

In 1981, American Airlines decided to allow its wealthiest customers to purchase a membership for unlimited flights. For $250,000, the customer was entitled to an unlimited number of free first-class tickets. And for an additional $150,000, you could buy the right for a friend.

The company’s marketing specialists believed that the purchase would only be made by large companies, for their executives’ trips, but many people liked the promotion. A man went to London 16 times in just one month. As a result, the company had to take thousands of passengers for free and in just one week lost 5 million dollars. Subscriptions were canceled immediately and money returned to participants.

In 2005, Snapple (the company that manufactures Dr Pepper soda, famous in the USA) decided to expand the product line and started to manufacture popsicles. Brand specialists thought of a great advertising campaign: to make the biggest popsicle in the world and enter the Book of Records.

The popsicle weighed 17.5 tons, was frozen in a factory and was supposed to be taken to New York, the launch site. A great popsicle in a super hot city in the summer. What could go wrong? All.

When the ice cream arrived downtown and the truck opened, waves upon waves of strawberry syrup covered everything in its path. The streets had to be closed for 2 days and the company had to pay millions of dollars for the damage caused.

In 2011, British supermarket chain Tesco staged a price war with rival ASDA. Tesco commercials said: “If you find the same product cheaper on ASDA we pay the difference”. In other words, if you bought a wine at Tesco for £20 and found the same wine at ASDA for £18, Tesco would refund £2.

The company assumed that customers would buy only necessary products. But people started to buy everything that was cheaper at ASDA, earning the difference. As a result, customers made a handsome amount of money and Tesco lost a lot, although the amount was never revealed.

In 2009, the fast food chain KFC decided to promote a new dish by offering it. The launch was on the show of none other than Oprah Winfrey, the most famous TV presenter in the USA. But marketers did not (or should) imagine the presenter’s power of persuasion. In other words, they underestimated the power of Oprah and television.

When audiences found out they could print a coupon to eat for free at KFC, 16 million people didn’t think twice and did it. The lunches ended in a few hours and even before the promotion ended, the company had already lost 40 million dollars, the same amount they had to pay the presenter for the advertisement.

In 1984 the Olympic Games were held in Los Angeles, United States. McDonald’s created a campaign with the phrase ‘If the United States wins, you win’ (video). For every medal won by the Americans, customers received free food and drink. For a bronze medal, a Coke, for a silver one, a potato chip, and for a gold one, a Big Mac.

But an unforeseen event (actually a foreseen one!) happened. That year, the Soviet Union, the main rival of the United States, did not go to the games due to the Cold War. The Americans have won 83 gold medals, 61 silver medals, and 30 bronze medals. This went far beyond expectations, and the action nearly bankrupted McDonald’s as everyone ate for free.

In 1992, Pepsi was far behind Coke in Southeast Asia. So the drinks manufacturer’s Filipino executives decided to launch a campaign called ‘Number Fever’. The plan was simple: on the lids of the drink there was a code with an amount (up to 40 thousand dollars).

At the end of the campaign, a number would be announced and the winner would be the lucky person with the code. But the company made a mistake. She raffled the number 349, which was printed on 800,000 caps. That is, 800 thousand people won the prize.

The company could not pay the amount and said the result was an error in one of its computers. People did not accept it and there were many protests. Trucks were burned and even the Pepsi factory was attacked. In the end, 3 company employees were murdered and Pepsi had to pay the promised amount, in addition to bearing a huge image loss.