Provocative Advertising

I just saw that there were already plenty of examples for really shocking ads, so I decided not to focus on one especially shocking ad but more on the way Amnesty International sometimes communicates. In fact as a human rights activist organism, Amnesty International likes to use original way to catch the viewer's attention, like guerilla or street marketing. As its aim is to denounce and fight suffering and injustice all around the world, their communications are always attention reaching and a bit disturbing. Like for example, those boards that are only trompe-l'oeil but really give you the feeling to see one of those suffering people just in front of you.


The slogan is « It's not happening here. But it's happening now ». It's like « it 's not because it's not happening in front of you that you shouldn't be concerned ». I really like street art for this thing : it's in our daily environment so if it's big enough, we are going to see it, but not as an ad, just as something somebody wanted to share with us. And for me it's totally different so I think it's a great campain.

Just for example, Amnesty International also asked german street artist to work for the organism. They painted people who really had to deal with injustice during their life, like for instance the first one, Troy Davis' portrait. He spent 19 years in death row for a crime he never committed.

My previous post failed or was deleted so I'm going to try once again
I choose an ad that has really left me marked on. This ad dealed with a group of teenagers who are enjoying a party by night in a idyllic beach. At first they are speaking, laughing, swimming and flirting. Then, few minutes later we can see the group drinking more and more and finally the party turns itself into a nightmare with : fighting, rape, drowning and ethylic coma.
At the end of the video an empty bottle of alcohol appears with the same label as for the cigarettes' packet where we can read : "Alcohol leads to alcohol comas, violence, accidents, sexual abuse ..." and we can hear drinking too much, getting extreme sensations.

I found and still find this ad very efficient. For alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and petrolhead using provocation is a good thing. People react to familiar situations when they are getting choking. The strength of this video is based on this fact. Most of us have lived a similar experience where we have drink more than we could. Seing what bad things could happen in this situation is terrifying and lead to a deep reflection.

Using provocation in the ads isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can save lifes. Provocation can mark people and have effects on their perceptions especially for young people who follow fads and who think that alcohol is so fun and cool. It could be used as prevention.

However, concerning the other ads girls presented where we can see women-objects it's ridiculous and very derading. It's totally useless and project a bad image of what women are. Perverts and disturbed men also thought thanks to these ads that women are sluts and slaves happy to grant their sexual desires.

Marketers should be more carreful and take more seriously their missions. Provocation is a powerful tool for prevention, mixing up stupid ads and moral ones is such a pity. Marketers should be focused on their ethic duty.

PS : I can't put the link, but you can see the ad on the following website : culturepub.fr
The name of the ad is : Anti Alcool : La Plage

In its latest campaign, the Indian magazine Sanctuary Asia, specializing in the environment, aims to raise awareness on the harmful effects of deforestation in the world. Its slogan "When the wood go, wildlife goes" recalls that 80% of biodiversity is sheltered in the forests. Provocative, moralistic and affecting, this ad aim to make aware people about what is going on about deforestation. Indeed, an estimated 27,000 plant and animal species disappear every year because of it. And this is not the only consequence...

Generally speaking, provocative ads never let anybody unmoved. On the one hand, this technique is a preventive way to get a message from striking manner that will attract the attention of the viewer. But on the other hand, one can also think of an ethical problem through the use of fear to convey a message and undermine the protection of children, likely to be faced with sometimes very violent visual.