Stage 1 : Controversial advertising

There have been many ethical issues relating to advertising, including the use of untruthful or deceptive claims, containing offensive images such as sexual appeals, stereotyping of particular groups, advertising towards children and encouraging materialism and buying things that people don’t need.

However, there appears to be an increase in the amount of controversial advertising being broadcast and printed. Some of the reasons for this include that society has become more complex, increased awareness of the harmful effects of some products and as agencies try to become more creative to “cut through the clutter” to gain attention and brand awareness. 

Controversial advertising is a form of communication that is shocking, offensive, unethical, politically incorrect and humorous. It can be open to interpretation.Creating an emotional connection is crucial to effective marketing campaigns. One common technique is to arouse the feeling of shock. 

Some of these ad campaigns really push the limits of what could be considered an effective visual. They include print ads, TV spots, online virals and guerrilla marketing campaigns. Many are disturbing, and most are controversial.Regardless of one’s own interpretation, these ads do what they’re meant to do: they evoke emotion in order to create buzz. 

They get people talking. The ads circulate and the brand name is mentioned repeatedly and awareness is brought to the company. Whether you agree with the term or not, these advertising campaigns rest on the saying that “all publicity is good publicity.”

Advertisement: Dolce & Gabbana

 

About the ad:

Dolce & Gabanna has angered many people with this ad, which features a woman being overpowered by a gang of men. It’s pretty clear why people are getting so upset. From D&G’s perspective, they are happy that everybody is keeping an eye on their ad and will never forget the brand.

Objectives:

To grab attention and create brand awareness. 

Target Audiences:

Younger generation of male and female who have interest in fashion. 

Nature of controversy:

Violence against women. 

Opinion:

It is hard to tell if the advertisement is effective or not because it definitely grabbed attentions of the public, but the ads were requested to be withdrawn by International Amnesty considering the ads "a praise of the violence towards women". 

Advertisement: Sexy Paris Hilton eating Hamburger 

About the ad:

Famous heiress of Hilton’ hotels, Paris Hilton, is shooting an advert for Carl’s Jr. restaurant chain. The advert is being controversial for its sexual content and connection between rich beauty Paris Hilton and greasy hamburgers. Moreover, the advert is misplaced sexualy because of Hilton’s almost naked body in little bikini and car washing.

Target audiences:

Young male.

Nature of controversy:

Sexual appeal.

Opinion:

The ad is quite shocking as it is quite controversial in terms of involving sexual appeal which is racy enough to generate protest from the moral lobby. People might question what is the commercial for? For Paris’s new song, for a car or is it really a hamburger commercial?

Advertisement: Nando's Last Dictator Standing

About the ad:

Being alone during the holidays can be upsetting and that is why a fast food chain is taking steps with their six-piece chicken combo to make sure nobody has to eat alone - even ruthless dictators. But the controversial Nando's commercial has attracted so much negative attention in Zimbabwe that the company has just announced they are pulling it. South Africa-based fast-food chain Nando's has pulled an ad that shows Robert Mugabe frolicking with dead dictators, after threats by a notorious youth militia loyal to Zimbabwe's president. The commercial was intended to poke fun at the fallen dictators, but Mugabe supporters are not amused and a militant youth group in Zimbabwe threatened to boycott the restaurant if they didn't pull the ad.

Journal article: 

Waller, DS 2005, 'A Proposed Response Model for Controversial Advertising', Journal Of Promotion Management, 11, 2/3, pp. 3-15, Communication & Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost, 2012. 
http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/research/bitstream/handle/10453/5787/2005002296.pdf?sequence=1 Accessed 26 March 2012.

It would be a problem if the feedbacks from audiences were all negative criticisms and disapprovals even though these advertisements are effective to raise public attention and awareness towards the brands. Some studies have shown that younger people have a greater acceptance of controversial advertising causing advertisers to use sexual or violent images to attract younger people. 

While advertisers have a social responsibility not to offend people by their advertising images, in a free market they should be able to communicate a message to their customers in a way they want to. Therefore, advertisers wanting to undertake a controversial campaign must then tread the fine line between successfully communicating to the marketplace and offending some people. 




Trade press article:

http://adage.com/article/news/controversial-nando-s-ad-south-africa-banned/14411/