Contemporary advertisement practices have created many
social and ethical problems due to their materialistic focus. One
of these problems is the extensive use of shock advertisements with an
offensive content which raise a lot of controversial and ethical issues in the
society.
As today’s consumers are exposed to thousands of messages each day, there
is a rather difficult task in front of advertisers to cut through and secure
the attention of the target audiences. “To make advertising appeals more
distinctive and hence, perhaps more persuasive, advertisers frequently use
dramatic emotional ads – messages designed to ‘shock the emotions and make the
brain itch” (Moore, in Moore and Harris, 1996). Shock advertising is a
marketing communication tactic which has been used increasingly in recent
years. This approach proved to be very effective for numerous organizations,
but at the same time others were faced with profitability loose or destroyed
brand image.
Although there is some validity in these criticisms
and majority of advertisements do portray a “fantasy” world structured around
product consumption (Williams 1980), in the 1990s, a few companies, such as
Benetton, Diesel, FCUK and Body shop, became notorious for producing
advertisements that carried explicit political and social messages. Pioneering
this move was the Italian clothing company, Benetton, whose advertising
featured, instead of product pictures, images of AIDS, wars, environmental
disasters, racism. Benetton ads quickly entered into the public discourse,
provoking heated discussions about what the role and content of advertising
should be. The company was both condemned for its appropriation of serious issues
to sell goods and praised for highlighting urgent social concerns through its
advertising. Beyond provoking public debate, Benetton ads also encouraged legal
action, which resulted in banning several of its campaigns in various
countries. Other companies including Diesel, FCUK, and the Body Shop, adopted
similar shock tactics in their advertising, providing support for the existence
of what Falk (1997) refers to as the “Benetton-Toscani effect” in advertising.
When it comes to the emergence of shock advertising,
numerous authors most often credited Benetton as a company which was the
originator of this concept during the 1980s (Vezina and Paul, 1997; Dahl et
al., 2003). Photographer Oliviero Toscani has been given complete freedom to
promote the company and its products. Under his direction, images in Benetton’s
advertisements started to become significantly provocative. This company was
justifying the use of controversial images by stating their concerns in raising
awareness and drawing attention to the social issues and not just to their
clothes.
Following Benetton’s example, many other companies adopted a similar approach in advertising their products or services, especially clothing and fashion brand names such as French Connection, Diesel, Esprit, Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Loren, etc. (Vezina and Paul, 1997). Another company often referred to for its use of provocative images is Calvin Klein, whose advertisements are “typical of a sexually nature” and they were often targeted by government and political groups for deliberate use of pornographic images .
Following Benetton’s example, many other companies adopted a similar approach in advertising their products or services, especially clothing and fashion brand names such as French Connection, Diesel, Esprit, Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Loren, etc. (Vezina and Paul, 1997). Another company often referred to for its use of provocative images is Calvin Klein, whose advertisements are “typical of a sexually nature” and they were often targeted by government and political groups for deliberate use of pornographic images .
Although shock advertising was developed primarily by
commercial organizations, non-profit organizations (such as the governments,
charities and human rights) soon adopted this approach (Fill, 2006).
“Children’s charities, anticruelty campaigners (human and animal), drug abuse
campaigns, human rights campaigners, road safety campaigners, disaster funds
and even housing charities are turning to more explicit images to explain their
causes and shock the public into a response or to supply funds” (Wilson and West,
1995, p. 40).
Critics have blamed advertising for manipulating
people, creating and instilling false needs and values, promoting materialism,
perpetuating stereotypes, and presenting a personal world of consumption sheltered
from social problems ( Schiller 1989; Schudson 1984). When it comes to shock advertising, Gaylord (cited in
Kover et al.,1995) stated that even if the audience likes shock advertisement
and moreover, perceives it as creative and furthermore awarded, it may have
little to do with its effectiveness. It could be stated that liking or
disliking the advertisement is primarily based on the emotions provoked by it.
The aim and objective of this research is not to find out
whether shock advertising is an effective
and strategic way to communicate and reach people but rather to
understand and realize the impact that
shock advertising has on consumers attitude and behavior as well as to examine
the ethical and Islamic issues related
to the impacts of shock advertising .In this research we’r going to define what is a shock
advertising, what does it contains and the impact that shock advertising has on
consumers’ mind, heart and in their behavior. And we will examine this kind of advertising from ethical
and Islamic point of view.
(To
be continued)
Written by: Mustapha
Hadj Smail
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