Is This The Most Controversial Super Bowl Ad Ever?
What To Know
- In 1999, shoe retailer Just for Feet aired a Super Bowl ad that was widely condemned as racist and tone-deaf.
- The controversial commercial sparked immediate backlash and a $10 million lawsuit against the ad agency.
A good Super Bowl ad will get a product or a service noticed, or better yet, make it a part of the national conversation. Think of spots like Budweiser’s “Frogs” or Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” which created a lasting impression in a good way. A truly great Super Bowl ad can change the entire landscape. Apple’s iconic “1984” spot pushed the medium forward and forever altered how brands think about commercials.
But what about a bad ad? Or worse, an infamous ad? What happens when a product or service creates an ad that inspires the wrong kind of conversation?
Super Bowl ads go wrong all the time. If a client is lucky, the spot is quickly forgotten. At worst, it creates a negative association that sticks to the product long after the game ends, and in some cases, it can even sink the brand
In 1999, shoe store Just for Feet ran an ad so controversial that it resulted in a lawsuit and eventually tanked the company.
During Super Bowl XXXIII, Just for Feet aired a 30-second spot created by Saatchi & Saatchi featuring four white men dressed as hunters in a Humvee as they stalk a barefoot Kenyan runner. After tracking him through the desert, they drug his water and forcibly laced athletic shoes onto his feet.
Neptuno Producciones/YouTube
What was the intended message? That Just for Feet will do what it takes to make sure the right runner is paired with the right shoe. But that was not the message that was sent to viewers. The shocking imagery did not sit right with anyone who viewed the ad, and it caused a wave of backlash that quickly overshadowed the campaign.
The ad was immediately condemned as racist, neo-colonialist, and tone-deaf, sparking public backlash and a media firestorm. According to Forbes, the ad resulted in a $10M lawsuit by the company against its agency, Saatchi & Saatchi.
The lawsuit was dropped when Just for Feet filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November 1999 following accounting fraud, overexpansion, and a cash crunch. Now, over 25 years later, Just for Feet has largely been forgotten, but that ad lives on in infamy.
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