Competitors attack!

November 13, 2024 2:48 PM

There are plenty of famous examples of ad campaigns explicitly targeting competitors going back a few decades. What are some examples in the modern era, possibly using social media and/or other new forms of attack?
posted by cincinnatus c to Society & Culture (19 answers total)

Mod note: Hi, one comment removed. The OP is asking for examples of this technique, not whether it's a good idea, so please keep answers focused on the question, thanks!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 4:24 PM on November 13 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: The question is looking for recent examples of this phenomenon. It is not looking for advice on whether I should, bizarrely, launch attacks on competitors in some hypothetical industry.
posted by cincinnatus c at 4:26 PM on November 13 [1 favorite]

I can't see the article, but Wendy's comes to mind. Their social media is known for roasting a variety of competitors. One example.
posted by hydra77 at 4:38 PM on November 13 [1 favorite]

GMM: Taco Bell vs Del Taco
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 5:34 PM on November 13

I don't have links, but GMM linked above actually does competitor showdowns pitting a lot of different brands against each other. However none of the brands in these bits have anything to do with these showdowns, Rhett & Link are merely comparing one vs another in their own way.

The thought that came to me was the phenomenon of sign wars. Not a new media however, it's about as old as it gets! Here's one example in the media between McDs and Dairy Queen, just google "sign wars" and you'll get tons.
posted by cgg at 5:53 PM on November 13 [1 favorite]

Apple vs. PC, featuring John Hodgman and ????
posted by Citizen Cane Juice at 6:09 PM on November 13

????

Justin Long, who has now a minor career of turncoat ad spots in which the former Mac guy is selling rival products like Intel chips or Snapdragon processors.
posted by zamboni at 6:24 PM on November 13

Enterprise tech companies buy billboards in the bay area lambasting each other pretty often. I don't have any links handy but they're kind of inside baseball that most people don't care about in the first place. But it does happen.
posted by aubilenon at 6:58 PM on November 13 [1 favorite]

BMW/Mercedes
posted by falsedmitri at 7:07 PM on November 13

Chick-fil-a and their campaign, Eat mor chikin with the cows has been answered by various burger places.
posted by MadMadam at 7:10 PM on November 13

Taco Bell’s “think outside the bun” campaign took on sandwiches in general, but I guess that was already a couple of decades ago
posted by Jon_Evil at 7:19 PM on November 13

There's a TV ad campaign I keep seeing for Blue Buffalo dog food that specifically goes after Purina (link)
posted by AndrewInDC at 7:44 PM on November 13

Burger King "dressed up" a location as the "ghost" of McDonald's in 2016.
posted by O9scar at 12:07 AM on November 14

I'm not if this counts as recent, but when the XBox One was released, they said there would be limited/no game sharing via disc.

In response, Sony put out the following ad which is a 22 second video on someone literally handing someone else a disc.
posted by Ms. Moonlight at 2:00 AM on November 14

One of my all-time favorite Superbowl ads: Young Jimi Hendrix chooses between Coke vs. Pepsi. Make sure you have the sound on.
posted by ALeaflikeStructure at 6:10 AM on November 14

Philadelphia has had some lawyer billboard war going on.
posted by cali59 at 7:57 AM on November 14

I can't find a link, but I remember a Volvo commercial, perhaps from the late 90s or early 00s, and I think it featured one of their higher-end station wagons outperforming a BMW. The ending line was something like, "The Ultimate Driving Machine, outperformed by a Volvo wagon? Is nothing sacred?"
posted by xedrik at 8:35 AM on November 14

Tesla regularly shows ads or whatever, competing against it's opponents.
Cybertruck pulling a trailer with a Porsche 911 out-accellerating a Porsche 911 is a recent example

Here's a current ad for Total Wireless where the guy compares and spraypaints over competitor's logos.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:07 AM on November 14

CBC Radio's Under the Influence is a superb series on the world of marketing, featuring host Terry O'Reilly. This episode on Arch Enemies is worth a listen.
posted by ginger.beef at 6:57 PM on November 14