Advertising has firmly entered the life of modern man. Promotion of goods and services can be seen on television, on transportation, and listened to on the radio.
Conducting promotions is also an advertising tool that creates consumer interest around the advertised product. But few people remember what advertisement they saw on TV a few hours ago, what is written on this or that banner or poster. Information is mixed up, and it is very difficult to single out any particular advertisement. What should advertisers do in these conditions? After all, for any advertising spend a lot of money. It is necessary that the advertising justified and the monetary costs and expectations of customers. And in this case in the course goes quite an effective way of advertising message about their products, goods or services. We are talking about scandalous or provocative advertising.
The use of provocative advertising. Why is it used?
To ensure that the customer does not forget what the commercial or other reproduction of the advertising offer was about, provocation or shock is used. In modern times, these technologies help to capture the interest of the consumer audience and form the memory of what is advertised. Thus advertisers manage to stand out from the mass of their competitors. Nowadays, there is little dependence on the quality of the product. Competitors also have the same product, at a similar or lower price. And the use of such technology in advertising, such as provocation or shock, is a way to brightly, emotionally, effectively declare themselves.
It is necessary that the eye of a potential buyer for some period of time stopped on the proposed advertisement. The provocative method is often chosen by large trading companies. But here the measure is important – the main thing is not to overdo it and not to create a negative image of the proposed product.
Classification of shock in advertising as a technology of provocative advertising (see table):
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| \t\t\tЭмоция\t\t\t | \Emotional orientation. | \Utilization ofadvertising media |
| \Consumer shock and horror. | \Attracting the attention of potential consumers to an object of influence in order to make it memorable. | \Violence and blood, indecent behavior in advertisements. |
| \Shock shock. | \Attracting consumer attention to advertisements that do not appear to be provocative or shocking. | \Shock is veiled, because it hides the shocking meaning, affecting the subconscious mind of the consumer. |
The fashion clothing brand Sisley, working with American photographer Terry Richardson and Nikko Amandonico, art director of the Energy Priject studio, never ceases to surprise and shock the public with its provocative advertising. Sisley’s advertising posters create a certain lifestyle, set the atmosphere, but in no way sell the product, which is what most clothing, footwear and accessories brands strive to do.
An example of a provocative advertisement for the brand Sisley:
Shock, horror when contemplating advertising provokes the consumer to negative emotions. In this case, any means can be used, starting with scenes of violence and ending with indecent actions that are not accepted in society. An example of such advertising:
And it does not matter at all what is advertised on this poster, you will not understand it from the first time. But the consciousness catches and remembers such an image. And with sound accompaniment or the creation of an inscription on the advertised picture – memorization is simply guaranteed.
Thus, provocative advertising aims at three actions:
- to get the consumer’s attention;
- to get him to watch the commercial;
- to make him memorize the commercial.
A gentle shock is an advertisement that does not have overtly harsh elements in its execution. Accordingly, it does not cause strong negative emotions. Usually it is aimed at a specific target audience, which rather distractedly perceives advertising that contains a veiled shock. To perceive such information, the consumer needs some time. It is needed to realize some provocation contained in the advertisement. An example of such an advertisement is a poster showing a car that has been wrecked in an accident.
Provocative, slightly shocking sentences are usually written in small print on such posters. In the case of a wrecked car, it may be a vivid and gory description of the death of the person who died in this accident in the car pictured. Agreed, this is not always pleasant to read, even though the advertisement is intended as a warning.
Example of a public service announcement “Don’t talk on the phone while driving”:
A provocative “Breastfeeding” ad for fast food chain Carl’s Jr. .
This ad campaign emphasized that the new line of sandwiches is made with all-natural chicken breast. But the advertising agency, which created this ad, decided to bring humor, and you can see how it turned out:
What you can achieve by using provocation in advertising
Provocateurs rely primarily on the subconscious mind of the consumer. They operate on the psyche of an ordinary person. In the age of the latest technologies and lack of scarcity, what else can interest the average consumer? Something unexpected, interfering with the simple ordinary course of things. Commercials, posters, banners – it is, to some extent, theatrical action, played out according to a script. And it can be considered successful and effective only when such advertising will interest the consumer.
Provocative advertising should be created very carefully. It has already been pointed out that it is better not to go overboard with shock creative. In addition, other problems can occur. This is what happened with an advertisement for an Opel car: watch the video here.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in England has accused Opel’s advertisers of mocking animals. Such negative emotions were caused by the commercial, which did not contain direct scenes of violence. Let’s look at the clip. A young man approaches a car that is contaminated with bird waste. Instead of using a regular rag, he wipes his car with a small sized white doggie. After use, the doggie was thrown out the window. And the viewer sees the inscription: “Opel Astra GTC – man’s best friend”! It becomes clear that Opel had a very specific goal in mind. It is not known whether that doggy died or was crippled – the advertisers did not tell about it directly. Nevertheless, a lawsuit threatens such a presentation of their goods to a large company. Therefore, one should be careful. Opel is far from a single company that produces provocative commercials. And the lawsuit from animal lovers is not afraid of her. These ads have increased car sales by many percent. What the advertisers wanted.
Champagne Mondoro
Let’s take another example. Champagne Mondoro is a delicious, inexpensive drink that combines the freshness and sweetness of a rich life! In order to increase the sales of champagne producers took a risky step – they used provocative advertising. The advertisers depicted a naked, rather attractive man, who covered his virtues only with a bottle of champagne.As a result – sales increased, thanks to the excitement created by advertising.
All examples show that the provocation contained in advertising justifies itself! The advertisement becomes memorable, the product is always on the rumor, and more and more people want to try the product.
What pushes manufacturers and large entrepreneurs to act a little aggressively or provocatively? If we take into account all aspects of entrepreneurial activity, the answer is simple: tough competitive conditions.
Want to increase sales but don’t know how? Are you afraid to use provocative advertising? We offer you to do competitor analysis, target audience analysis, and based on the research develop a marketing or brand promotion strategy.
