Category: Creative | 02nd Mar 2010

Shock advertising has been around for a while and it has been used by companies in awareness campaigns with varying degrees of success, but the question remains: Is it actually worth doing?

The old adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity probably rings true here - even if people hate a creative marketing solution, at least it's getting tongues wagging and the number of those who like it or consider it clever are likely to equal those who disapprove.

Look at Burger King's new ad for its Seven Incher burger as an example of this. It comes with strong sexual overtones, in terms of both images used and accompanying text and is certainly a bit astonishing. Chances are some people will cover their kids' eyes as they walk past and others will chuckle uproariously.

However, UTalkMarketing's Melinda Varley thought to ask whether this tactic could also be a dangerous technique to employ, as the merchandise represented could be essentially undermined.

"Creating an emotional connection is crucial to effective marketing campaigns and these ads do what they're meant to do: evoke the emotion of shock in order to create buzz," she remarked.

HS&P is an integrated relationship marketing agency. Our current clients include Diageo, Honda, Norwich & Peterborough Building Society, Norwich Union and Ted Baker.

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