This two-minute clip was supposed to lure more Filipino visitors to Singapore but ended up being widely ridiculed on social media websites. And no wonder. The video, which follows a grinning couple as they celebrate their anniversary in the city state, packs more cheese than a bottomless fondue. And there's the twist at the end. A wincingly awful twist. Watch...

Hit: The spirit of Massachusetts

So bad it's good. This Eighties ad features a lovely table cloth, a handsome broom, cyclists and horse riders living in harmony, and perhaps the finest tourism jingle of all time – brilliant enough to be lampooned by Family Guy.

Miss: "Break out those PJs"

With its ear-wincingly bad backing track and Stone Cold Steve Austin lookalike, this ad – featuring people wandering around the city in pyjamas (because “Philly’s more fun when you sleep over”) really missed the mark.

Hit: Cleveland spoof

Admittedly, it’s not an official tourism ad, but with more than six million views since it was posted on YouTube in 2009, this effort by Mike Polk Jr is well worth including. “The Cleveland Tourism Board gave me $14m about 8 months ago to make a promotional video to bring people to Cleveland,” jokes Polk. “As usual, I waited till the last minute and I ended up having to shoot and edit it in about an hour yesterday afternoon. I probably should have invested more time.” [Warning: contains explicit language]

Miss: Where the bloody hell are you?

This typically Australian effort from 2007 cost AUS$180 million but was briefly banned in Britain following complaints about the tagline – earning its place on our list.

Hit: A "fair dinkum" holiday

It conforms to just about every Aussie stereotype going, but with Mick Dundee as the star, how could this be anything other than a hit? It was also staggeringly successful, turning Australia into a major destination for American tourists virtually overnight.

Miss: North Korea Tourism

How was this made as recently as 2005? For a truly spectacular view of the DRPK, watch this video instead.

Hit: "When can you start?"

When VisitEngland went celebrity hunting for its 2012 ad campaign, it managed to bag Rupert Grint and that actress off Downton Abbey. California? Well they got David Beckham, Rob Lowe and Arnie. 1-0.

Miss: Saucy Riga

If this advert is anything to go by, Latvians are incapable of communicating without a handy supply of napkins and tomato ketchup. Supposedly commissioned to encourage holidaymakers to visit Riga, shots of the city’s beautiful old town – the reason most visit, aside from the cheap beer – are scandalously few and far between. Instead we see couples flirting awkwardly, and generally making an utter mess that some poor waiter will be expected to clean up. And the less said about that man’s haircut the better.

Hit: Go to Aruba

Angry US comedian Lewis Black served as the star for this series of amusing ads for the Caribbean island.

Miss: Barcelona...

...known for its Gaudi architecture, tapas, beaches, pickpockets and… fountains, apparently.

Hit: Air New Zealand

Not an advert as such, but the latest novelty air safety video for which the antipodean airline is well known. With Martin Johnson making a cameo as an alien, and Israel Dagg rapping, it had to make our list.

New Zealand's Middle Earth campaign was pretty effective, too...

Miss: Nuts about Canada

Authorities at Banff Lake Louise Tourism sought to take advantage of the famous photobombing squirrel, shot inside its national park, by producing this, back in 2009. The joke wears thin very quickly.

Hit: Newfoundland and Labrador

And the Oscar goes to...

Miss: Colour me fun

“I’m red, I love… I’m yellow, I groove… I’m blue, I appreciate. There’s one place where colours and people best come together – Miami Beach!” So begins this rambling effort that drags on for almost 15 minutes and features a shameless number of attractive women raising their eyebrows in front of roaring fires and reclining onto beds.