Advertisements are meant to pull consumers in with clever taglines and unique visuals, pushing the boundaries of creativity to the best of their abilities. But what happens when advertisers sprinkle a little bantering humour into their campaigns?
It’s no secret that brands have friendly feuds with their competitors and advertisements are a perfect medium to showcase their advantages while trolling their competition. Here are 5 ads that roasted their competitors:
1. Coke Vs Pepsi
The infamous Coke vs Pepsi feud has been going on since the dawn of time and this advertisement is one of many to keep fans of the popular soda brands cackling over the feud. On the left, we have an ad from Pepsi’s Belgian ad agency where they dressed a can of Pepsi in a Coca-Cola-styled cloak with the words, “We wish you a scary Halloween”, signifying that it’ll be scary to go as Coke for the day. On the right is Coke’s answer to the ad, only changing their caption to, “Everybody wants to be a hero”, to add a cheeky twist on the Halloween campaign.
2. Samsung’s Photo Assist
In this 2024 social media campaign featuring Samsung’s Photo Assist, Samsung openly mocks Apple’s inability to remove objects from a picture highlighting their Photo Assist feature. The funny jab at Apple read, “Do more with an apple than Apple has ever done”, and “Can your Apple do that?”. The lasting feud between Apple and Samsung is a testimony that brands grow creatively in the face of competition.
3. Apple’s Greeting To The Samsung Galaxy S9
The Apple-Samsung feud continues with Apple’s greeting to the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S9 with a series of ads, suggesting that the then-released iPhone X is superior to Android phones. The ad is simple, it focuses on the comparison of “your phone” and the “iPhone” in a series of who does it better. It highlights the main features that make iPhones better than its contenders, such as better security and better camera quality.
4. Audi Keyring Commercial
Audi has funny ways of praising its competitors while advertising its own brand. This iconic advertisement features key rings of car brands – Alfa Romeo, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo – with words highlighting each brand’s characteristics, such as design, sportiness, safety and comfort. At the end, it pans up to the words, “In one car only?” and fades to the Audi logo. The innovative ad shows the creativity that companies push to highlight their brand.
5. McDonald’s Trolls Burger King
A seemingly innocent ad of McDonald’s highlighting their irresistible fries in a 2011 TV commercial in Germany turns into a direct humorous jab at Burger King. It starts with a bunch of kids stealing McD fries from a smaller kid until he hides it behind a Burger King bag and they walk away uninterested. The ad has since been taken off air as Burger King claims McD violated the rules of comparative advertisement, but archives are available on YouTube to watch.
What do you think about these ads from mega corporations mocking each other? Are they just friendly banter or are there actual rivalry between them?
Source: Twitter
Alyssa Gabrielle contributed to this article
