Shock ads

I was sitting at work, wrote a summary of the session on one topic of concern to me. I really want to talk about advertising. And I thought that a better place than Habra could not be found.

So, advertising.

Advertising has entered our lives and occupied a solid niche in it. It surrounds us on the street, in print, in the media and on the Internet. Whether we like it or not, advertising affects our perception and choice in purchasing a product or service.
But how many of us think about the quality of what surrounds us and what will surround us in the future. But this question is very important. What is advertising going to? Will it go the right way, or the path of least resistance.
')
What is the main principle of advertising? She should pay attention to herself and be remembered. To achieve this effect, people have to invent new and new ways to attract attention. And we are not talking about ordinary advertising stands and the quality of their products. No, we are talking about large advertising agencies that use terms such as “innovation” and “creativity” in their work.
And the shock of these innovators was the shock advertising. Let's talk a little more about what it is.
The first person to come out on this niche with his ideas was Oliviero Toscani. For almost ten years he has been creating scandalous advertising for Benetton. Many of his works were accompanied by ships and raised a big stir. Images of mating horses are known to the whole world; photos of the genital organs of different races; photos of grave crosses or a newly born child with an uncircumcised umbilical cord. The image of the kissing representatives of the peasant faith caused a very strong reaction from the church.


The latest work for the company Benetton began photographs of suicide bombers. People sentenced to death with a list of their crimes. After that, a number of US shopping centers refused to cooperate with Benetton, and in Italy and England, Tuscany advertising was banned.
Nevertheless, during the time Tuscany cooperated with Benetton, the company's sales rose very strongly, brand awareness was achieved, and the sales zone increased 10 times. From this you can see that the promotions have achieved success.
Now we can discuss the scandalousness of Oliviero Toscani for a long time. This fact will not change. He was the first and, probably, his experiment had the right to exist. Innovation itself is not bad. But what is the shock of advertising in our time? After all, Tuscany, in most cases, did not just show people scandalous pictures with the logo of the advertised company. This person often tried to raise certain sociological problems in advertising. Such as interracial tolerance, AIDS, war. That is, this person believed that advertising, like any other channel of information, should be used for sharp social information. This is what distinguishes him from the huge number of followers who follow the path of least resistance.
The so-called creatives have perfectly caught one thing - scandalousness raises ratings and attracts attention. For this you need to shock a person. And in what way - this is already a secondary question. And here we come to a question that everyone decides for himself. On the issue of morality and morality. Will your “shock” carry the idea, will it be witty and relevant, or will it just be an attempt to become different and attract attention though. Indeed, in fact, shock advertising is like a walk through a thin line. One extra move, and you will find yourself on the other side of what is permitted. Such a fate can befall even those who want to say something meaningful with their creatures. And I don’t want to say about those who don’t have any idea.

Turn for examples.
Advertising agency smashLAB launched a series of posters under the slogan "Our Creative Comes From Within" (Our creativity comes from the inside). The client and the performer in this case is the agency itself, and the campaign serves the purpose of self-promotion of its creative abilities. And here are some examples of works:

So, what do we see here? For now, we will not touch upon moral aspects. Let's talk about the idea. On the one hand, the idea is original, someone can say that it is creative. But is it?
In fact, in pursuit of originality, the advertisers themselves signed the death sentence. The depicted waste products of the human body are far from being the best of what man is capable of. And if this is the “creativity” that the smashLAB agency offers us, even if it is painted in all the colors of the rainbow, then the place for it is in that “creative” toilet bowl from the second picture.
Let us turn to another example - advertising "ABC Cooking School" (Culinary School ABC).



What do we see here, and what feelings does it cause for us? Pictures about the same disgustingness as the previous ones, should, according to Western advertisers, advertise a culinary school. And if in the example of smashLAB the idea is traced clearly, then it needs to be looked for. And the logical chain looks like this: the pet was edified by eating the food left on the table. And if the owners did not finish it and did not even remove it from the table, then they themselves most likely ran to the toilet. Conclusion - it's time to go to the culinary Skoda ABC.
So, the idea does not lie on the surface itself, and not everyone will understand a similar train of thought. After all, it has long been proven that if something is misunderstood in an advertisement (film, book), it will definitely be misunderstood. But even if they understand exactly the meaning laid by the advertisers, now the logo of the advertised culinary school and its name in people will always be associated with, I apologize, vomiting animals. For some reason, I doubt that the client wanted this effect.

But back to the shock. Are the examples presented a true shock advertisement? After all, they are out of the original, definitely - memorable and attracting attention. For me, the answer is no. In my opinion, the creators of this product are the so-called pseudonovatorami, trying by all available means to attract attention to themselves, rejecting such concepts as morality and aesthetics. And without them, I myself do not think of high-quality advertising. After all, real, good and thoughtful advertising is the same kind of art as cinema or literature.
I do not say that it is impossible to shock the consumer. Sometimes even necessary. For example, in social advertising, and not only. But this shock must be justified. Such advertising should not just be, it should make a person think, and think about things worthy of attention. The goal must justify the means.

My opinion - do not try to stand out, just to stand out. No need to innovate for the sake of innovation.

PS
This is my first topic, so please do not beat if you suddenly did something wrong.