I recall ads that exploited ethnic stereotypes, such as the
Frito Bandito; Paco, the lazy Mexican who "feeneesh nawthing," including his non-L&M cigarette;
Mr. Lee, whose "ancient Chinese secret" for cleaning shirts was Calgon; and the diminutive, turbaned
genie who slumbered on a bed of nails and piloted a flying carpet for Sominex. While such ads are certainly questionable, do they rank as the worst?
High on my list of worsts are the pernicious pharmaceutical ads that exhort the viewer to request a prescription for a drug with unstated benefits. One example of such nocuous advertising is an early
Claritin commercial.
Also near the top are the automotive ads that suggest a particular vehicle may be driven only in streambeds, or on beaches and sand dunes, and can be stopped only by spinning out.
For me, the worst ad campaign of all time, however, was "
If You Don't Have Schlitz, You Don't Have Gusto." It helped drive down sales!
