How much does this ad cost? A hundred thousand? We’re burning through our money! – one executive exclaimed, looking at the advertising budget. And perhaps that’s true. Consumers have learned to shield their eyes and ears from the hype. So when your ad agency presents you with mockups of upcoming campaigns, consider whether these mockups will penetrate your defenses.
Tell me, did your eyes stop at the title of this article? You started thinking, what is it that everyone else has three of that I have five of? If so, you have stumbled upon a stopper. When you ask your marketing department to make an advertisement that “touches consumers,” that is probably what you are expecting. Of course, unless you want something stronger, more terrifying. Then the story has turned to shocker. This is also a method of advertising, but on a stronger level, it gives people a shock, a shock, a vague question.
Stoppers and especially shockers are designed for companies that are willing to take risks. Because improper use of this advertising method can lead to the possibility of turning away consumers and displeasing the authorities. Many shocking advertising campaigns in Russia have also confused and even annoyed the authorities. However, businesses can use many different advertising methods to attract the attention of consumers. But first, let's understand the nature of stoppers and shockers.
Ad Stopper
What mechanism ensures the victory of advertising over human will? We must admit that many of our natural reactions are not very different from the behavior of a newborn baby. Newborns are the ideal model of consumers. Their reactions are purely physiological – no thinking, just emotions. Where does a baby's eyes go when blowing bubbles on the bed? Tests have shown that the baby is only interested in the boundary between the wall and the ceiling. At the physiological level, people pay attention to the movement of information streams from an early age: ceiling and wall, a world with and without a mother, a plane with colorful paintings and without paintings. Adults also easily recognize the contrast, the irregular concavity, the interference of two different contexts, paragraphs, ideas.
Based on the contrast in advertising messages, we divide stoppers into three types: basic stoppers, semantic stoppers and dynamic stoppers.
STOPPER base
The basic STOPPER appears thanks to the opposition of the basic elements in the object:
- Full color, or colorless (with bright colored dots on a black-white background);
- With sound and without sound (“a minute of silence” in a continuously playing radio program);
- Non-standard sizes (images that extend beyond the board's dimensions often attract viewers);
- Space is not filled (a white paper with only one word will be read by many curious people);
- Moving object.
So the simplest type of stopper is a colored dot. Even better if it moves. The basic idea of a stopper is so boring that people don't use it anymore, because it's like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
For these stoppers to be effective, now a bright uniform is not enough, but its “body” must also create a good effect, metaphorically speaking, it must make everything around it “lift up”. For example, if you see a blue person on the street, at first you think that person is a psychopath, after a few seconds – or a film crew, and the answer to the question “what is this?” is the goal of advertising, what marketers expect.
For many years, the main advertising stopper was on the front page: children's books, animals, and celebrities. However, today, this is no longer the case. The effectiveness of celebrity endorsements for cosmetics companies is no longer as effective as expected. It is possible to pierce the indifference of consumers with a funny irony if you create a certain impression. For example, you can replace the usual gentle face of the celebrity with a frowning image.
STOPPER semantics
“The Anatomy Institute.” One of the basic principles of human reflexes is the protection of the body. When we consider a fight, a fall, an accident, we contract, as if it were “acting on us.” By reflex, we associate the feeling of the body with safety.
Therefore, advertising (including the separation or manipulation of vulnerable organs – eyes, mouth, head, ears, stomach, genitals) “attacks” the nervous system most strongly. Pioneer Corporation’s KURO campaign is a typical example of this type of advertising.
The senses (ears, eyes) are “external organs”, and the attachments to the tactile organs are the palms and fingers. This trick breaks our sense of the integrity of the body, it is absurd, but unforgettable.
“Oxygenation.” A good sentence is a passage that contains a contradiction within it. The names “hot snow,” “living body,” “with eyes wide open,” and “a common masterpiece” cling to the consciousness like an oxymoron that binds the eye. The visible oxymoron is a combination of contradictory elements.
“Intelligent sabotage”. This approach is an attack on social defense mechanisms. For example, in some countries political jokes are reserved for use between friends.
And also because of the violation of the principle of “political intimacy” in “commercial” advertising with its insolent slogans and headlines that evoked mixed feelings of fear and admiration.
STOPPER dynamic
The “Aqua Fresh” toothpaste ad, in which the character is talking about a smiling girl, but this girl is his grandmother and has “teeth – as they were when they first came out”, a phrase that is remembered by many people. This type of stopper is reminiscent of the unusual dialogues of Buddhists or Zen people. The traditional beginning is also the unexpected ending, turning everything upside down. Today, this type of stopper is considered a teasing, provocative slogan, arousing curiosity and satisfying the curiosity of “gods”.
First, billboards with unusual questions appeared on the streets. After a while, the answer appeared in the same place. During that time, viewers racked their brains, asked each other what it was, predicted what would happen next, and that was all the advertisers expected. A great stopper was the billboard advertising the movie “Night Watch”: during the day it was just a movie title on a white background, and at night, thanks to the system of colored lights, the image became mysterious and dim.
“Body language”. A powerful stopper can be the use of body language in advertising. A clenched fist or a fist with the middle finger extended is considered rude and provocative. Our defense mechanisms cannot help but react to these real threats!
“Shock Me – I Will Shake the Market”
Shock advertising affects consumers even more deeply. It stirs up all our fears, all our hidden and forbidden emotions. In its nature it always involves the violation of taboos. That is why it is different from other stoppers.
The classic form of shocking advertising – advertising by Olivero Toscani for the fashion house Benetton. The works of this provocative photographer are associated with major lawsuits in the US and Europe. The psyche of the glamorous society was blown up by pictures of kissing nuns, mating horses, genitals, the ten evils on tombs.
But thanks to that, Benetton achieved results beyond expectations: sales increased 10 times, while advertising costs accounted for only 4% of income. However, social pressure forced Toscani to end his cooperation with Benetton. In business, even geniuses must follow the rules.
And your marketing department will have to do this. Shock campaign – it’s a play on “Wilhelm Tell” (Swiss hero of the XIII-XIV centuries, who fought for national independence against the Austrian Empire). The smallest mistake is to kill a brand, to start having problems with the authorities, to have a sharp decline in sales. But with a successful idea – we will spend minimal costs, have more connections with consumers, become more known.
If you think the end justifies the means, then follow the diagram of shock advertising formation.
1. Choose a shocking theme. The theme must be taboo. Traditional selection methods: Various forms of sex, representations of violence, death in general, vulgar language. In some countries, shocking advertising is often used in the social field. For example, in the near future, television will show a series of commercials full of blood and death - clips that serve as training for drivers in safe driving.
2. Advertising messages should be aesthetically pleasing and avoid offensive themes.
On the eve of the New Year, a retail chain decided to attract customers with a shocking advertisement. The driver slammed on the brakes when he saw a picture of a woman’s bare buttocks on the billboard. The buttocks were shown above the two zeros in the middle of the number 2007. The advertisement was sexually themed, and they did not match the content. The model was not good enough, the image was not professional. For the audience, instead of “drooling”, the advertisement caused a nauseating reflex. To avoid similar mistakes, let’s put our ideas through an aesthetic filter – turn the ugly into the beautiful.
3. Protect yourself
And now we come to the guidelines for minimizing the risk of shock advertising. In some specific cases, these tips are also useful for stopper advertising.
In short, shocking ideas need to be constrained to the following “no’s”:
- No loss of brand;
- Do not offend consumers (society);
- No blockade of goods consumption;
- do not create unwanted groups;
- Do not cause discord between businesses and government agencies.
To protect your company, when researching creative ideas, use the shock factor. There are three methods to reduce marketing risk:
Metaphor. For example, the Absolut alcohol advertisement. All are understandable and non-controversial.
Mannequin. Like “dismemberment”, but very subtle. The happy head of Professor Douel (tragicomedy by P. Smirnov based on the work of Russian writer A. Belyaev) is smiling gently on the billboard. There is shock, but no disgust.
Aesthetics. It's not the image that's shocking, but the taboo subject matter itself.
A fat woman sitting on a toilet is seen as vulgar, while a beautiful woman in gold jewelry and fashionable shoes looks stylish.
We emphasize that, in fact, effective stopper and shock ads must touch on the deep needs of any human being in love, sex, safety, health. They are present on the fear or desire related to these needs.
Limited Access
Now you have everything you need to start designing your own ad – one that will be noticed and remembered. To do this, you need to sort through the methods mentioned above and apply them to your product or service until you get the right image for your ad.
Before deciding that this type of advertising is necessary for your product, determine who your target audience is. Perhaps it is not worth considering the conservative part of society. Who then should we appeal to? Nowadays, shock and stopper ads are used mainly to promote brands to teenagers. However, most of the real consumers of this type of advertising are “white collar” residents. People who are tied to offices and depend on working hours and reports are often receptive to this form of advertising. When these office workers see your unexpected idea, they will spread your idea of story, quote it on their blogs, email it to their friends. If your creative discovery has a chance to become a beautiful saying and anecdote, it is thanks to the guerrilla marketing of them – white collar workers.
And remember: stopper and shock advertising is not a magic wand that turns a pumpkin into a crystal cart full of money. It does not guarantee an increase in sales by itself. In fact, there are dozens of other factors besides advertising that influence sales: the presence of the goods in the trade network, the professionalism of the sales person, even the weather or the location of the office. Stopper and shock methods can create surprise, amuse, scare, attract attention – but they do not necessarily mean selling. However, they can attract your customers in the information explosion of the modern world.
So, if your marketing and advertising people come up with a genius stopper, immediately start thinking about how your sales department can pull the bait “ashore.”
According to bwportal