Marketing Fails + Wins: Why ‘Edgy’ Works for Some Brands and Not Others

An edgy ad campaign may help a brand turn heads, but it can also increase the likelihood that heads will roll. 

If you’ve ever wondered why some brands (think Liquid Death) are able to get away with murder (jokes) without killing their profits, while others are not, this article is for you.  

Before joining FI, I worked as senior copywriter for a marketing agency, so this subject is one of personal interest. I also spoke with multiple experts in the field, including Michael Van Ausdeln, senior brand strategist at eDesign Interactive. 

“The key to making edgy campaigns work is knowing if your brand has permission, meaning the tone and approach are already built into the brand meaning. Liquid Death works because it understands who it is for (Gen Z and Millennials with subversive, punk-rock attitudes) and, more importantly, who it is NOT for,” Van Ausdeln told FI. 

He pointed to a co-branded Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. campaign from years ago that had ruffled more than a few feathers, which he believes was largely because the Hardee’s brand had stepped outside of its “permission zone.”  

Though Carl’s Jr. had adopted a racy ad approach in the early 2000s, Hardee’s had positioned its brand around a more family-friendly message of “down-home food, done right,” which didn’t exactly scream “Kate Upton gyrating on a convertible” like the commercial portrayed. 

Let’s examine three other F&B marketing fails, plus a few wins.  

FAIL #1: Starbucks South Korea’s “Tank Day” (2026) 

Our first example involves Starbucks South Korea, which launched a ‘Tank Day’ campaign last month that sparked widespread consumer backlash for making light of a brutal 1980 military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and led to a “very significant” sales drop shortly thereafter.  

Things escalated so badly that the nation’s leaders demanded a public apology to families impacted by the tragedy, as Reuters reported.  

Perhaps the biggest misstep was the use of the slogans “Thwack it on the table!” and “Put it on the table with a sound of ‘Tak!’”  

These phrases were viewed as direct references to the police’s infamous statement released to justify the death of student activist Park Jong-chol, who investigators claimed had suddenly died after they “hit a desk with a thwack.” 

FAIL #2: &pizza’s “Marion Berry Knots” (2024) 

A couple of months after I joined FI, the &pizza chain came under fire for its ad campaign that turned late D.C. mayor Marion Barry’s addiction issues into a joke to promote its Marion Berry Knots, as NBC Washington reported. 

The brand described the dessert as “so good it’s likely a felony” in a press release that was rife with drug references. 

Protestors quickly gathered outside one location to demand that the brand apologize and remove the dessert from its menu because of the controversial promotion. 

“The Marion Berry pun reads clever in a vacuum and tone-deaf in D.C.,” said Mallory Gray, creative director at Skydeo. 

FAIL #3: Pepsi’s “Live for Now” (2017) 

Multiple experts mentioned Pepsi’s “Live for Now” ad featuring Kendall Jenner, including communications expert Vishakha Mathur, who says it faced backlash for trivializing the Black Lives Matter movement.  

“It’s a really good example of when brands [try] to enter a conversation with the right intention but don’t comprehensively test their creative. In my work with leading organizations, I encourage them to bring in different perspectives and test their message multiple times before deciding on a creative [concept],” Mathur told FI. 

Beth Egan, a professor of advertising at Syracuse, also highlighted several issues with Pepsi’s campaign, including its lack of permission to “play in that space.” 

“Their brand has been built on youth spirit and energy for years, and trying to jump into the fray of racial inequality was just off-brand,” Egan told FI. 

Now, let’s review a couple of wins. 

WIN #1: Burger King’s “Moldy Whopper” (2020) 

Egan says she uses this commercial in her classes as an example of an edgy-leaning campaign that actually worked – despite it being a bit… gross. 

“The team took an alternate approach of showing a Whopper sitting out over a number of days and becoming moldy. By the end, the burger looked disgusting and would turn off most viewers,” Egan explained.  

“However, the purpose was to show that, because their burgers are fresh, they’ll mold over time, unlike their competitors (unnamed, but of course, McDonald’s).”  

WIN #2: Coca-Cola’s “America the Beautiful” (2014) 

Egan also highlighted a Coca-Cola Super Bowl ad that received “a TON of backlash” for featuring people from different countries singing “America the Beautiful” in their native languages. 

“Coke knew the ad was going to be controversial but didn’t care. They also knew that growth in Coca-Cola Classic was going to come from immigrants who saw Coke as a symbol of America, not from their traditional audience who were turning to healthier alternatives … and it paid off,” Egan explained.