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Is 'Shock and Awe' Advertising Really That Effective?

by pennynickels
6 replies
Hello.

I ran across this upcoming cigarette ad type called Grisly FDA Tobacco Warnings Could Trip First Amendment Battle and it caught my attention. I then wondered if this type of 'shock and awe' advertising is really effective - does it change behavior, especially when placed directly on the product itself? :confused:

Should more of this type of advertising be used on other products and will it make any difference? :confused:

Do you think we will now see these types of pictures in popups, popunders, and display advertising? :confused:

If so, should it be classified by some sort of rating system so that children are shielded from viewing it or is it good even for them to see this type of advertising as a deterrent when surfing the Web? :confused:
#advertising #awe #cigarettes tobacco #display advertising #effective #first amendment #grisly #hock #popups or popunders
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by pennynickels View Post

    I then wondered if this type of 'shock and awe' advertising is really effective - does it change behavior, especially when placed directly on the product itself?
    In the case of cigarettes, it's been very convincingly shown to be extremely effective, in many different countries, for a long time now. Much more so than taxation/price-increases, I think. (Psychologists claim that the rationale is more to do with the effect it has on smokers' families than on smokers themselves.)
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    • Profile picture of the author whateverpedia
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      In the case of cigarettes, it's been very convincingly shown to be extremely effective, in many different countries, for a long time now. Much more so than taxation/price-increases, I think. (Psychologists claim that the rationale is more to do with the effect it has on smokers' families than on smokers themselves.)
      Actually Alexa, you've got that the wrong way around.

      Here in Australia they've had the "graphics" (in both definitions of that word) on cigarette packets now for a number of years, with no discernible effect on the number of people who smoke.

      Earlier this year the Government raised the tax/excise on ciggies by around $2 a packet, and that HAS had an effect.

      It's a similar thing with alcohol. We've had "graphic" ads showing the effects alcohol has, including car crashes, violence, etc. for years, and we STILL have a binge-drinking problem.

      The problem with these is that they are initially effective, but then people become "immune" to them.
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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        Originally Posted by whateverpedia View Post

        Here in Australia they've had the "graphics" (in both definitions of that word) on cigarette packets now for a number of years, with no discernible effect on the number of people who smoke.
        Everything is upside down in Australia. I should have known.

        In the UK, the "shock and awe" advertising (such as it was) of the 2006/7/8 period was a lot more effective than the tax rises, according to what I read ... (but that was in turn only according to government statistics, which may not mean as much as one would like) ...

        Originally Posted by whateverpedia View Post

        It's a similar thing with alcohol. We've had "graphic" ads showing the effects alcohol has, including car crashes, violence, etc. for years, and we STILL have a binge-drinking problem.
        Alcohol, I think, is very different ... I can't quite remember why, now ... :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author Nickolie0990
    Shock and awe can be used as a good pattern break, but it shouldn't be used as a main marketing method.
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  • Profile picture of the author getsmartt
    I don't know if the new warnings will work at all, I know when I was working up in Canada in the early 2000's they had implemented a similar campaign. I actually witnesses people (mostly young adults) go into the store and request certain packages because of the graphics, the most popular seemed to be the "Ugly Lungs" and the "Limp Cigarette" (meant to indicate that cigarettes could cause impotency).
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  • Profile picture of the author pennynickels
    It's amazing how diverse the replies are here with regard to the effectiveness of the shock and awe for the type of image shown in the link for this thread...

    ...and its coming to a store near you in the U.S.

    Do you think a picture like that is going to have a positive or negative effect on children and teens? :confused:
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