To celebrate Israel’s 60th Birthday, The American Jewish Committee has put out what may be the worst web advertising campaign ever.  Just now I clicked on a flash-ad on Slate.com that described different American cities and their characteristics.   Thinking it was an ad for a ranking of American cities (I love to critique their methodologies), I clicked through, only to come across this page from the AJC pointing out how Israel is Diverse, Innovative, Friendly, and Free.  In fact, that’s all it does.  The entire content of the website is a picture of a black couple at a strip-mall with the text:

Diverse. Innovative. Friendly. Free. These are just a few of the countless ways to describe Israel @ 60. A modern democracy with an enduring history, Israel’s unique mix of culture and ingenuity makes it a lot like home and yet like nowhere else on Earth.

I clicked through the ad to get what could very easily be a print ad hastily stuck at a URL.  There’s no content for me to explore, no call to action, no history of Israel, tourism info, testimonials or interviews with Israelis, anything.  Just a paragraph of text and a stock-photo.  I haven’t researched around yet to figure out the impetus behind this campaign, but to consider it a terrible waste of donor funds would be an understatement. If you’re going to advertise on the web, at least advertise something.

To break it down for the AJC, Indecipherable/Misleading Ad + Contentless Page = Worst Web Campaign Ever.

Categories: Israel, Marketing