Barack responds to McCain Ad

When Does Controversial Advertising Go Too Far?

In my second and most likely last installment about controversial advertising, let’s talk about some campaigns that went too far & delve into why they went too far.  This is where I think controversial campaigns get interesting from the armchair quarterback perspective because I think the definition of too far greatly depends on your personal mindset.  Benetton, for example, has often found success with their controversial images and campaigns.  But sometimes they have gone too far & received a backlash from it as a result.  So, has Calvin Klein.  Often times, the public perspective changes very rapidly & what was okay while developing the concept quickly becomes politically incorrect based on what is happening in the news etc.  For example, right after 911 most Americans would not have responded well to an ad campaign that blew something up.  As American citizens, we were simply too sensitive to the reminders of the attacks against our nation.  In fact, several major movies were in production that included the World Trade Center in their shots & decided to digitally REMOVE the towers from the affected shots before the movie released.  The studios understood that Americans wouldn’t want to be reminded of that terrible tragedy so close to the event. 

Do you have any recent ad campaigns that were offensive to you but not to others?  I’d like to hear from you if so.  I know personally, I was offended by the recent political ad put out by the McCain campaign that associated Barack with Paris Hilton.  In my opinion, his attempt to discredit Obama backfired.  But that is just my opinion.  It turned me off to McCain & honestly, I like the guy but I don’t agree with his advertising campaign.  So, let me hear from you.  Include some links if you have them.  I’ve included some links on research articles on the topic & other interesting info on the subject. 

• http://www.gamespot.com/news/6153816.html
• http://conferences.arts.usyd.edu.au/viewpaper.php?id=233&cf=3 – excellent study published on controversial advertising 
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSJCnBz7cTg – youtube & msnbc commentary on it

Erin May is a marketing and communications consultant who assists clients with various special projects in the Denver area.  She specializes in digital medias such as building on- line loyalty and lead generation programs for her clients and resolving how best to communicate client’s on-line community.  Clients have included federal and state clients as well as the entertainment and gaming industry.  Follow her on her personal blog site at http://marketingmaven-erin.blogspot.com/

Article Tags: ad campaings that went too far | advertising risks | barack obama | Benetton | Calvin Klein | controversial advertising | controversy | Erin May | Going too far | John McCain | Paris Hilton | personal perspective | Political Ads | public perspective | reconcepting due to world events | world politics | world politics and adverstising
Filed under: Advertising, Brand Equity, Branding, Campaign Critiques, Celebrity Marketing