Try as they may, every year, a handful of marketers just can't avoid rolling out completely terrible ad campaigns.Whether a tone-deaf message or ads with glaring racist slants, such gaffes are not necessarily reserved for smaller marketer with little to no creative counsel. As 2017 showed, this sort of thing can just as easily happen to big name brands with huge budgets.As the year winds down, we look back at some of the most cringe-worthy ads by marketers that should have frankly known better.Oh and we're grading them too, just for fun.It's not all grim, check out the Best Ads of 2017 here.10. Volkswagen's "Luv Bug" spot (Grade: C)It's been a rough couple of years for the German auto maker post its emission scandal, and the company seems to have lost not just its credibility, but also its creativity.You probably haven't seen a more literal ad on your TV screens this year, with a couple expanding the size of their car as they expand their family.As the family grows, the Beetle gets swapped out for progressively bigger cars, including the Jetta and the Atlas. No points for creativity for this one.Youtube Embed:http://www.youtube.com/embed/RYDrq24XnbcWidth: 560pxHeight: 315px9. Netflix's "Christmas Prince" tweet (Grade: C-)Netflix is usually a savvy marketer and even landed a spot in our Best ads of 2017 list. But it seems that even the best and the brightest run out of original ideas sometimes. The streaming giant thought it could take a page out of Spotify's playbook, using its viewership data to fuel a quirky marketing campaign on Twitter for the holiday season. Except, it totally backfired and people thought it was rather creepy."While there are some pros to copycat campaign marketing, it cannot be an integral part of a successful, long-term strategy," saidJerome Maisch, director of product strategy at Digimind. "These days, loyalists want their favorite brands to be unique and differentsomething that cannot be achieved by copying other brands marketing strategies on social and beyond."Tweet Embed:https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/940051734650503168'ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwTo the 53 people who've watched A Christmas Prince every day for the past 18 days: Who hurt you'8. Sprint's incessant trolling of Verizon (Grade: C-)Some people may champion brands taking potshots at their competitors, but it's unimaginative, and frankly, comes off as lazy. Sprint has emerged as the king of such ads in recent years, relentlessly taking digs at Verizon. This ad, for example,is for a mock store called "Twice the Price," with Sprint calling out Verizon for charging "twice the price."Youtube Embed:http://www.youtube.com/embed/VMfkM3DyHhcWidth: 560pxHeight: 315px See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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