Advertising’s Darwin Awards: The Tracy Awards

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After a two month submission period, the judges have finally handed down the list of “winners” of the First Annual Tracy Awards, an awards show created to honor the worst of the worst in advertising. Yup. Just what we love. Brands like Snickers and Microsoft were among the finalists, winning such awards as “Best high-profile fall from grace” (Snickers); “Best reckless waste of expensive talent” (Oreo) and “Best use of cross-promotion to single handedly destroy comedy forever” (Microsoft) for their various campaigns.

According to the judges, each Tracy Award winner is a “unique little nugget of embarrassment that’s helped lower the bar in the world of advertising creativity and execution.” Winners:

– Oreo – “Double-Stuf Racing League” TV Ad / Tracy Award: Best reckless waste of expensive talent

– Red Robin – “Serving Simulator” TV Ad / Tracy Award: Best use of a terrible commercial to remind us why no one eats at your restaurant

– Rocky Mountain Power – “Lethal Hands” Print Ad / Tracy Award: Best use of condescension to illustrate an already painfully obvious point

– Coors Light – “Post-Game Coach Interviews” TV Campaign / Tracy Award: Best use of a dead horse to beat another dead horse while jumping the shark

– Basil Hayden Whiskey – “Good Luck” Print Ad / Tracy Award: Best use of incomprehensible pretentiousness in a print ad

– Yahoo! – “Lose Wight” Banner Ad / Best use of unintentionally effective stock photography

See all the losers…uh…winners here.

Picture of Steve Hall

Steve Hall

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