For better or worse, people had a lot of feelings about advertising this year.

Thanks to social media, advertisers can no longer launch their campaigns into a void, hoping their marketing investment later pays off in increased sales. Advertising is now a two-way street, and brands must be prepared at all times for consumer feedback.

Increasingly, that feedback is morphing into full-blown backlash at unprecedented levels. Whether it’s heightened tension in an election year, ongoing polarization, or anxiety around emerging technology, marketers are often wading into a heated environment when trying to reach consumers. 

Apple, Coca-Cola, Calvin Klein, and Bumble were among the brands that sparked emotion, criticism, and even outrage this past year.

Below, the ads that struck a cultural nerve in 2024.

NYX | Super Bowl 2024 ad

As a first-time Big Game advertiser, NYX learned the hard way that making jokes at the expense of men doesn’t sit well with the NFL. Its saucy and suggestive spot starring Cardi B and a bunch of goofy guys who misused its Duck Plump lip gloss to enhance their private parts was rejected by the league. Scrambling in the 11^th hour, NYX and McCann New York produced an edited—some might say neutered—version, while angry social chatter quickly pointed out the NFL’s hypocrisy. –T.L. Stanley

Green ‘weird’ billboard

In a standout example of Bratvertising, a pair of veteran ad creatives launched a digital billboard that added the Charli XCX treatment to a Democratic Party dis of the Trump-Vance ticket. Reading, simply, “weird,” in black text against a lime green background, the work cleverly combined viral memes in support of presidential candidate Kamala Harris. The unnamed creatives worked with Florida Immigrant Coalition Votes, spending a paltry $600 for the space in Palm Beach County, not far from Mar-a-Lago, for the zeitgeisty, IYKYK campaign. –T.L. Stanley

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