30 Shocking Ad Campaigns that Work – Shockvertising
September 14th, 2009 | General | Comments
Sometimes funny advertisement is not enough or not really appropriate. Especially for non-profit associations which have to « awake » the awareness of people about some kind of topics like social values, environment, public policy / health issue or personal ideals (e.g., urging drivers to use their seatbelts, promoting STD prevention, bringing awareness of racism and other injustices, or discouraging smoking among teens). Indeed these Ads don’t sell you anything but rather try to convince you. This type of Advertising is generally named « shock advertising » or « shockvertising ».
The main goal of the shockvertising is to startle and offend, deliberately, rather than inadvertently, its audience by violating norms universally recognized. This form of advertising may not only offend but can also frighten as well, using scare tactics and elements of fear to sell a product or deliver a public service message, making a « high impact ».
Benetton is a pioneer in this domain. They made a lot of shocking Ad campaigns and they succeeded! Indeed today you can ask whoever, they all remember at least one Ad campaign from Benetton. They like or not but they remember!
Since few years we get an overdose of shocking advertisings. Actually this is counterproductive. These type of Ads are displayed to very young people through many medias like magazines, TV or even on the web. What are the consequences? Their brains are numb with boredom and the gore stuffs become the normal way of thinking and personally I don’t agree with that.
For my part, I think Shocking Advertising has to be used mildly and only in certain cases very definite (for e.g, like I said above, for health / public policy issues). Indeed our consumer society doesn’t need this to work well. However we are more and more individualistic and we don’t pay attention to some kinds of topics like home-less people issue or global warming that are mostly considered as boring things.
I tried to regroup the most shocking Ads I’ve seen during the last months and that worked for me.
1. Organ donation
2. Cancer patients and association: Cigarettes smoke people
3. Calle 13: The action and suspens chanel
4. Rasayana anti-stress tea: Make peace with the world
5. Marie Claire campaigns: Don’t let someone else speak for you
6. Montana Meth Project: Meth not even once
7. “The Longest Night”: Help homeless children escape a life on the street
8. AIDES: Without a condom you’re sleeping with aids. Protect yourself.
9. APAV: Silence hurts.
10. WWF: Imagine this is yours
11. WWF: You can afford to be slow in an emergency. Act now for the planet.
12. WWF: Stop climate change before it changes you.
13. WWF: Don’t buy exotic animal souvenirs.
14. France’s road safety: In towns car accidents don’t just happen to cars
15. Jessica Alba and Declare Yourself: Only you can silence yourself
16. Bad Charity Challenge
17. ADESF: Stop consuming your body
18. DASL: If you drink like a man, you might end up looking like one.
19. Lung Cancer Fundation: Second hand smoke in the home
20. Museo Tamayo
21. UNICEF: Every child needs a family
22. UNICEF: Bad water kills more children than war.
23. Australia’s road safety: One click could change your future. Belt up.
24. McAllister Project: every 48 seconds a drunk driver makes another person eligible to park here
25. Smoking Prevention for pregnant women
26. Dead corps on a pedestrianized passage
27. Use Your Head and Wear a Condom
28. Reporters without frontiers: Start fighting for press freedom before you lose it.
29. Anti-Drink Campaign
30. Concordia Children Services
Tags: ad campaigns, shocking, shockvertising