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Lesson
B2ENMarketing Failure: What Were They Thinking?
Analyse the worst marketing campaigns in history and learn why they failed. Practice past simple for storytelling and cause-and-effect language through real advertising disasters, brand fails, and a challenge to fix them. A practical B1/B2 English lesson on past tenses, cause and effect language, and marketing analysis. Ideal for adult learners, English tutors, and language schools.
How this lesson works
Students participate
Students interact directly with the lesson — responding, speaking, solving tasks, making decisions and joining activities.
You see what is happening
See student responses, answers, mistakes and activity in real time where supported.
You guide the experience
Guide the lesson, manage activities and timing, and respond to what students are doing where supported.
Everyone participates
Students actively contribute and interact instead of simply consuming lesson content.
What Went Wrong? — Guess Before You Know. True/False
True or False
- Pepsi once ran an ad where a model gave a police officer a Pepsi to solve a protest — and people loved it.False
- Burger King tweeted "Women belong in the kitchen" on International Women's Day as part of a campaign about female chefs — but most people only saw the first tweet.True
- A Swedish furniture company once named a children's desk "FARTFULL" — which means "speedy" in Swedish.True
- Netflix lost 800,000 subscribers after raising prices by $1 — the biggest mistake was not the price but the way they communicated it.True
- Coca-Cola changed their recipe in 1985 and customers were so happy they sent thank-you letters.False
- A fashion brand once had to recall thousands of T-shirts because the design accidentally looked like a swastika when folded.True
- McDonald's launched a social media campaign asking customers to share happy memories — instead they shared horror stories about food poisoning.True
- A car company named their new model "Nova" and it sold well in Spain even though "no va" means "doesn't go" in Spanish.True
Marketing and Advertising Vocabulary. Speed Match
Speed Match
- Campaign→A planned series of advertisements and promotions for a product or idea
- Target audience→The specific group of people a company wants to reach with its message
- Slogan→A short, memorable phrase used in advertising
- Backlash→A strong negative public reaction to something a company did
- Rebrand→To change a company's name, image, or identity
- Viral→Content that spreads very quickly across the internet
- Focus group→A small group of people asked for their opinions about a product before launch
- Tone-deaf→Showing a complete lack of awareness about how a message will be received
- Call to action→A phrase that tells the audience what to do next, like "Buy now" or "Sign up"
- Endorsement→When a famous person publicly supports or promotes a product
- Market research→Studying what customers want before creating or promoting a product
- Flop→A product or campaign that fails completely
What Caused What? — Cause and Effect. Sequence
Sequence
- Pepsi created an ad showing a model giving a can of Pepsi to a police officer during a protest
- People felt the ad trivialised real social justice movements and police brutality
- The backlash was immediate — the ad was mocked on social media within hours
- Pepsi pulled the ad and issued a public apology the same day
- The incident led to a permanent change in how brands approach social issues in advertising
Lesson Board
Lesson Board
Fix the Marketing Report. Correct the Mistake
Correct the Mistake
The campaign was launching in March and it immediately received negative attention.
The campaign was launched in March and it immediately received negative attention.
Due the poor research, the slogan offended a large part of the target audience.
Due to poor research, the slogan offended a large part of the target audience.
The backlash leaded to the CEO making a public apology on live television.
The backlash led to the CEO making a public apology on live television.
As result, the company lost over 200,000 followers on social media in one week.
As a result, the company lost over 200,000 followers on social media in one week.
The ad was pulled because of it was considered insensitive to cultural traditions.
The ad was pulled because it was considered insensitive to cultural traditions.
Consequently the brand decided to changed its entire marketing strategy.
Consequently, the brand decided to change its entire marketing strategy.
The company didn't tested the campaign with a focus group before launching it.
The company didn't test the campaign with a focus group before launching it.
This lead to a 30% drop in sales and the marketing director was been fired.
This led to a 30% drop in sales and the marketing director was fired.
Save This Campaign. Roleplay Quest
Roleplay Quest
Scenario
Three marketing campaigns have failed badly. For each scenario, one person is the Marketing Director who must explain what went wrong and propose a fix. The other is the CEO who is furious and wants answers. The Marketing Director must use cause-and-effect language to explain the failure and past tenses to describe what happened. The CEO asks tough questions.
The Marketing Director
You are responsible for three campaigns that all failed this year. The CEO wants an explanation for each one. You must be honest about what went wrong, explain the cause and effect, and propose how to fix each one.
Secret goal: Campaign 1: A social media ad that offended a religious group because nobody on your team researched the imagery. Campaign 2: A celebrity endorsement where the celebrity was arrested two days after the launch. Campaign 3: A "customers share their stories" hashtag that was hijacked by angry customers posting complaints. For each: explain what happened, why, and what you would do differently.
The CEO
You are angry but fair. You want to understand what went wrong before you decide whether to fire the Marketing Director or give them another chance.
Secret goal: Ask three questions for each campaign: "What happened?", "Why did it happen?", and "What should we have done differently?" If the answers are vague, push harder. If the answers are honest and show learning, consider giving a second chance.
The Brand Consultant
You have been hired as an outside expert to evaluate all three failed campaigns and recommend whether the Marketing Director should keep their job. You have no loyalty to anyone.
Secret goal: Listen to both sides. At the end, give your honest assessment: was this bad luck, bad judgement, or incompetence? Use cause-and-effect language in your verdict: "The first campaign failed because...", "This led to...", "As a result, I recommend..."
The Social Media Manager
You work under the Marketing Director. You warned them about Campaign 1 and Campaign 3 but were ignored. You have the email receipts to prove it.
Secret goal: You are nervous about speaking up against your boss in front of the CEO. But if the Marketing Director takes zero responsibility, you will show the emails. Use phrases like: "Actually, I raised this concern on [date]...", "The response I received was...", "This led to me feeling that my input wasn't valued."
Create the Uncancellable Campaign. Story Builder
Story Builder
Story prompt
Together, build a marketing campaign that CANNOT fail. Choose a product (real or invented), name the campaign, write the slogan, choose the target audience, and plan the launch. But here's the challenge: after each step, your partner names one thing that could go wrong — and you must adjust the plan to prevent it. Use cause-and-effect language: "If we do X, it could lead to Y, so instead we should..."
Why Edugine?
Turn your lessons into experiences.
Edugine helps tutors create and run live learning experiences where students actively participate, interact and collaborate — while tutors see what students are doing and guide the lesson in real time.