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:

We came across this awesome life/productivity boosting post on Behance over a year ago and thought it time to share the goodness.
Behance just started collaborating with a group of fourteen established blogs, all very different, but all with a shared interest in helping people increase productivity (among other self-improvements). We call this collaboration “LifeRemix.” The Behance team sees this as a great opportunity to share our tips for productivity beyond the creative professional community.

An amusing commentary on PowerPoint brought to you by comedian Don McMillan.

Ever wondered why so many fast food companies brand themselves in red and yellow, or why freeway signs are green with white text, or why so many accountants choose blue for their logo?

One important thing that must be considered when creating something that is to be printed is how many colours are going to be used. Now this might seem a bit silly considering any colour printer at home or work can print any colour, right? Wrong, on two levels actually. No, it isn’t a silly question and no, your printer cannot print any colour.