CONTROVERSIAL ADVERTISEMENT

Presented By: Sakshi Mehta

Neha Narang Simerjeet Khurana Saviny Mangla

Controversial advertisement Is a type of advertising generally regarded

as one that “startles and offends its audience by violating norms for social values and personal ideals”.

It is the employment in advertising "graphic imagery and blunt slogans to highlight" a public policy ,issue, goods, or services.

www.wikipedia.com

WHY???

This type of advertising is designed principally to break through the advertising “clutter” to capture attention and create buzz, and also to attract an audience to a certain brand or bring awareness to a certain public service issue, health issue, cause, goods or services.

Literature Review

Some advertisements, by the nature of the product, may be perceived as controversial and any promotion of their product may generate negative responses, for example cigarettes, alcohol, condoms or feminine hygiene products

(Schuster and Powell 1987; Wilson and West 1995).

Previously these products were known as:

Unmentionables (Wilson and West 1981)

Decent Products (Shao 1993) Socially sensitive products (Shao and

Hill 1994a) controversial products (Rehman and

Brooks 1987)

Waller (2003) noted that most of the research has observed “controversial advertising” as a negative concept, and if controversial advertising resulted in only negative responses advertisers would shy away from this type of ads. However, advertisers are not shying away but using it in increasing numbers.

The use of controversial images has been successful for a number of organizations in the past (for example, Evans and Sumandeep 1993; Hornery 1996; Waller 1999; Irvine 2000; McIntyre 2000; Phau and Prendergast 2001).

Kinds of controversial Advertisements

Barnes and Dotson (1990) Controversial Products: Some

products by its nature itself are controversial

Controversial Execution: Some advertisements are executed in such a manner that they evoke public sentiments or some controversy.

Categories of Products considered controversial if advertised

Gender/Sex Related Products (e.g.. condoms, female contraceptives, male/female underwear, and feminine hygiene products).

Social/Political Groups (e.g.. charities, political parties, religious denominations, funeral services, racially extreme groups, and guns and armaments)

Charities and social cause

Barnardo’s adv. campaign

Heroin Baby

Bonny Baby

Stolen Childhood

Cont…. Addictive Products (e.g.. alcohol,

cigarettes, and gambling) Health and Care Products (e.g..

Charities, sexual diseases (AIDS, STD prevention and weight loss programs).

Fam, Waller and Erdogan (2002)

Addictive products Cigarettes

Alcohol…

Health and Care Products

Examples( Execution based)

Effects on Consumers Advertisers, psychiatrists, and social

scientists have long debated the effectiveness of controversial advertising.

One finding suggests “shocking content in an advertisement significantly increases attention, benefits memory, and positively influences behavior." The same study also shows that consumers are more likely to remember these advertising content more over others.

New Trend in Controversial Advertisement

Subliminal Advertising These are those advertisements where

message which has to be conveyed is kept below human absolute threshold and could only be sensed unconsciously.

The very nature of such advertising , being playing with unconscious of humans is controversial.

Examples

“ beer advertisement” ,

Ups and Downs

Ups: Gets word of mouth Catches the public imagination Any publicity is good publicity philosophyDowns: The campaign overrides the product The initial buzz has to be backed by a Big

idea or even more controversial stuff

THANK YOU