At Axiom - we have seen applied at one time or another and occasionally all twelve at once - all of the following causes of bad brand advertising and bad brand design.
This list was compiled by Branding Strategy Insider and quite succinctly spells out the top 12 causes likely to result in bad brand advertising:

Another important facet we had to consider as part of the roll out of the new Hames Sharley brand was to look at their recruitment advertising strategy. As everyone is aware, Australia is currently experiencing a unprecedented skills shortage, so targeting, appealing to and finally attracting skilled staff has become a priority for most Australian companies.
One aspect of the overall Hames Sharley recruitment strategy that we can discuss here is the press advertising strategy.

Our partnership with INGAL EPS commenced over 11 years ago, when they were called Riverton Engineering. From the very beginning we strived to differentiate INGAL EPS from the more traditional approach of their competitors. A simple strategy, but one that without the support and commitment of your client is achieved less often than you might think.

Ads of the World is a fantastic web site to preview what the best of the best in advertising are up to - from multi-million dollar campaigns to small scale viral marketing strategies. There really is a lot of talent around the globe and Ads of the World provides a forum for creative-types to show off their wears and bounce ideas off others in the field.
Each month AOTW compiles their best of the best, so we thought we’d take the time to share some of these with you. Be sure to check out AOTW for yourself - if you happen to find anything that tickles your fancy, Make sure you share your discovery by posting a link to it in the comments.

For anyone that has never come across these little gems, the ‘Get a Mac’ ads from Apple featuring actors Justin Long and John Hodgman playing “Mac” and “PC”, respectively.
An absolutely fantastic series of ads guaranteed to make you chuckle and add some extra ammunition to the old Mac Vs PC debate.