Shockvertising is a term used to describe a form of advertising that causes shock to people. It should be noted that not all advertisements are shocking. Shocking advertisements often contain “unusual” elements such as blood, human internal organs, or pornographic images.
Shock advertising is said to be done to attract public attention. In recent times, we can see that public interest in shock advertising has become more complicated (many people claim that, in many cases, this form of advertising is ineffective). And frankly, most of this advertising is still considered successful and known to the public.
We will talk about social advertising in this article, but we should not ignore commercial advertising. Shockvertising has been used for quite a long time. In the past, this form of advertising generated a lot of public attention. Simply because TV advertising is often censored, so not all advertisements can appear, especially shocking advertisements. Therefore, to attract the audience, people use simple elements of pornographic pictures. Nowadays, the appearance of photos and advertising clips of semi-nude women is no longer a surprise.
In the 80s, the most impressive shocking advertising clip was probably Benetton's advertisement, when photos by photographer Oliver Toscani appeared in newspapers/magazines. And the image of this fashion brand was widely known to the public thanks to Oliver Toscani's extremely impressive advertising photos. However, times have changed a lot, and Oliver Toscani's works are considered provocative. In the end, Benetton also canceled the contract with the "star" photographer, and the advertising campaigns of this fashion clothing brand became more moderate.
Shockvertising is often used in commercial advertising. And this approach is successful because it almost always generates public interest. Moreover, social issues also attract public attention. The Body Shop campaign “Ruby” poster was launched in 1998. The poster only showed a chubby doll like a Barbie doll. In many stores, this form of advertising is often banned. Moreover, the public often has mixed opinions. The Body Shop campaign itself is intended to show natural beauty, that any woman is wonderful.
It is also important to understand what it is about. If we are talking about sex shop advertising, then perhaps a little shock factor is used. The nature of the shop itself supports this. For example, Coco de Mer, a sex shop, has put up billboards all over London and Paris showing the faces of men and women in ecstasy. The press reported that this advertising program completely satisfied their customers.
In general, one important conclusion can be drawn about shock advertising. It is effective in cases where the shock to the customer is linked to the brand position. That is, there must be a certain relationship between the company's position and what information the company needs to convey with the help of advertising. For example, if the advertisement criticizes manufacturers of clothes made from animal skin, it is important that the company itself does not sell similar products and is completely clean on these issues.
What’s more important is that – with the help of shock advertising, we will not find it easy to sell. Shockvertising is most commonly spread in the field of social advertising, not commercial advertising. Take a look at the following examples:
It should be noted that shock advertising is used in principle all over the world to varying degrees. For example, you can see shockvertising less in the US than in Europe. To be more precise, the term itself originated in the Old Continent. Here, the character of the people is clearly revealed. Europeans are used to asserting their personal independence or authority, etc. Here, shockvertising is even used by financial institutions.
In general, the debate about the effectiveness of shockvertising has been, is, and will continue to be. On the one hand, advertising agencies support this method, simply because it is profitable for them. The agencies that commission it are divided. On the other hand, many people assert that this type of advertising is generally effective (for example, Constant – a furniture company launched a shock advertising campaign with unexpected results), while many others argue that it is a way of throwing money out the window. In many cases, shock advertising forces people to talk about themselves. And that is not a bad thing.
Thus, shock advertising can be effective in situations where:
– Provocative advertising that somehow fits the brand. Consider the example above of the sex toy store. In this case, if we are interested in social advertising, the example shows that the brand is “clean”.
– We talk about social advertising;
– Let's say a small company doesn't have the budget for an expensive advertising campaign.
In general, there is no consensus in opinions regarding shock advertising. For some, it is an effective advertising tool, while for others, it is just throwing money out the window…
According to Bwportal
