Is this the worst ad of the year? I mean it sincerely. Rarely has such a big-budget campaign for a major brand felt so utterly bewildering. It’s a study in how not to make an ad — a strange, fascinating failure that somehow landed in every corner of the globe.
The concept itself is shaky at best. Three celebrities — Vinícius Jr., Maluma, and Bradley Cooper — appear together with no clear connection to each other, or to the fragrance they’re supposed to be selling. Someone clearly believed that jamming a Hollywood actor, a Brazilian soccer star, and a Latin pop sensation into a confined space would tick every target market box. Yet, in doing so, the ad loses all strategy. Hugo Boss’s usual slogan, “Boss recognize Boss,” only adds to the confusion. Grammatically, semantically, and visually, it simply makes no sense.
Production quality? Surprisingly bad. The white Boss logo is awkwardly placed behind Cooper’s hair, Vinícius Jr.’s shadow seems almost absent, and Cooper appears to have a six-pack photoshopped onto his shirt. Even the staging of the stars tells its own story. Maluma looks engaged, Vinícius Jr. appears politely confused, and Bradley Cooper… well, his haunted stare is unforgettable. Is he pleading for help? Reflecting on past acting choices? Or simply wondering why this ad exists? Whatever the answer, it leaves viewers questioning everything about modern advertising.
And then there’s the fragrance itself: Ginger-Leather. Two words that should never coexist — a pairing as jarring as “chainsaw” and “kindergarten.” Even in French, “Cuir Gingembre” might have felt exotic and intriguing. Here? It lands as absurd. The 30-second TV spot barely improves on the poster, adding surreal scenes of Maluma weeping at a Bradley Cooper movie and Vinícius Jr. scoring a goal while staring at Cooper in the stands. It’s almost impressive how consistently baffling the execution is.
The real takeaway isn’t about the celebrities or even the consumers. The real victims are the Hugo Boss team, who had no hand in this Coty-produced disaster. While the luxury brand has been creating smart, refined campaigns under James Foster, this one was hijacked by a licensee with a colossal media budget and a vision all its own. For once, the Boss at Boss probably wishes to go unrecognized — and who could blame them?
