Shock Advertising

Shock Advertising

The United Colors of Benetton has used shock advertising over the years for a number of reasons. First, Benetton has taken to 'cause' advertising as a way to raise awareness of social, political and religious issues going on around the world. Benetton sees an opportunity to let the public know about issues that are important to them as a company. Along with raising awareness, Benetton also raises its own level of recognition and awareness in the public by standing out from the crowd - in a very crowded retail clothing market.

Along with the 'shock' value of this type of advertising, Benetton has benefited from the buzz created by their controversial campaigns. Some media outlets have banned their ads, causing just the sort of buzz Benetton likes. Having ads banned by parts of the media only serves to drive up the frenzy surrounding, not only the causes highlighted, but also Benetton as a company.

According to Benetton's creative director, Oliviero Toscani, there are no shocking pictures, only shocking reality. He argues that anyone can create ads with beautiful people living wonderful lives in lovely settings, but that is not reality. His strategy has been about showing what is really going on in the world. Benetton's main creative strategy seems to be to push the boundaries of our limits through images that promote tolerance, racial integration, AIDS awareness, hunger, child labor, and pollution. Images such as world leaders kissing in their UnHate campaign; bloody babies; blacks and whites, both human and animals; a person dying of AIDS; and an amputee with a spoon attached to his prosthetic, to name a few.

Benetton has argued that offensive images are acceptable in art and journalism but not in advertising. I think this is true and is unfair. Perhaps we are more comfortable with what we deem offensive when its art, because after all, artists are kind of wacky; or when its journalism, because journalists are also kind of wacky; but when it comes to advertising, we are just uncomfortable. Maybe because we view advertising as a way to get us to do something or buy something, we think that all ads should be upbeat and positive. But recently there have been some very affective - and offensive - ads regarding smoking in New York state.

The recent ads to get people to quit smoking show people who have smoked their entire lives and how that decision has impacted their health. Instead of blatantly telling people they should quit smoking for their health, these ads show the outcome of a lifetime of smoking. In one ad a woman is lying in a hospital bed set up in her living room. She is talking, saying she had a stroke because of her smoking. Her son is giving her a sponge bath as she talks. She says she can no longer take care of her own personal needs and has help from caregivers and her own son. At the end of the ad,