Extreme 'Shock Ads' Disgust Consumers to Make Their Point — and Consumers Are Disgusted
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United Way ads showing a little girl's face atop a busty woman's body to fight teen pregnancy and statutory rape created an uproar online that got them yanked before they went to print.
But the campaign — with the slogan "When you look at a young girl as something more, you need help" — created to fight a disturbing pattern in inner-city Milwaukee is part of a larger trend of increasingly lurid "shock ads," according to Newsweek magazine.
Shock-and-awe gimmicks have been used in advertising for decades, but those in the know say they're becoming more disgusting. And critics are disgusted, calling them needlessly provocative.
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The United Way spread is case in point, showing a despondent child-woman wearing a low-cut cocktail dress. The campaign was launched to battle the worrying 71 percent of teen pregnancies in Milwaukee that arise from statutory rape, according to the nonprofit powerhouse.
A drunk-driving deterrent spot for a group called Arrive Alive features a sexily dressed girl collapsed on the floor of a men's bathroom.
In general, such public-service campaigns are "like a sledgehammer to the face," AdRants blog founder Steve Hall told Newsweek.
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But there's evidence that these ads are good for business, and spike sales, the magazine reported.