Despite all the hype, no one can guarantee that today's Super Bowl match-up between the Patriots and Eagles will be riveting, or that Sir Paul's performance at halftime will make us forget last year's wardrobe malfunction. But there is one sure thing: It's still the Super Bowl of Advertising, as a 30- second TV spot will set you back a mere $2.4 million.

In honor of those pricey spots and the nervous ad folks who created them, we've decided to take a look at a few classic campaigns gone wrong.

Behind the Iron Curtain: Clairol in Germany

A few years back, Clairol, the hair products company, introduced a curling iron called the "Mist Stick" to the world. The vapor wand was all the rage with stylistic vunder-babes and sold like hotcakes worldwide ... except when Clairol execs brought the beauty product into Germany. Turns out that "mist" is German slang for "manure" or "excrement." And while many farmers may have had a use for a Manure Stick, fair-haired beauties did not. On a related note, Rolls-Royce had a mighty hard time marketing its "Silver Mist" coupe to Germans.

A pun in the oven: Parker pens in Latin America

In 1935, the Parker Pen Co. invented and marketed a truly innovative product: a reliable fountain pen. Most businessman of the day carried their pens in sparkling white shirts, and the Parker model offered them the promise of being able to holster those puppies without worrying whether they would leak or stain. The pen was a wonder, and the ad slogan "Avoid embarrassment, use Parker Pens," was a huge success. The next step? Go global, of course.

When they first expanded their market to Latin America, what the folks at Parker wanted to say was, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." Problem was that the Spanish word "embarazar" has a double-meaning; it means "to embarrass," but it also means to "impregnate." So, to some unsuspecting souls, the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."