It is difficult to find a leader who will agree to spend a lot of money on promoting a corporate name, especially since some marketers are well aware of how to create a spectacularly effective advertising campaign with a very modest budget.
Whatever it was, but provocative marketing- the key to success for small and medium-sized businesses, that is, for those who cannot afford the huge costs of a full-fledged professional advertising campaign.
Usually under the concept provocative marketing mean a variety of promotions with costumed promoters and promotional cars. Meanwhile, often traditional advertising communications - radio, television, press and billboards - can become a kind of testing ground for research in the field of advertising provocation. The bolder the idea, the more likely it is to become a provocative marketing classic.
Like every type of marketing, the provocative one is aimed at “untwisting” a particular brand, its goal is to increase sales and business profitability. The effectiveness of a provocative advertising campaign is explained very simply.
Unusual, unlike anything, always attracts, involuntarily we pay attention to extraordinary things - an axiom of psychology. To capture and, most importantly, to keep attention, by virtue of something, such that it stands out from the ordinary monotony. That is why the tabloid press, outrageous personalities and extremely bold designer clothes are popular. No matter how educated, intelligent or aristocratic a person is, at least once in his life he read the details of another scandal inflated by the yellow press.
In addition to small and medium companies, provocative marketing can come in handy in a crazy competition. In this case, provocative inclusions in a solid advertising campaign will be what will successfully distinguish the product from the mass of its kind.
Opponents of provocative marketing warn that too bright and outrageous slogans can lose the essence of the advertising message. Knowing by heart the text of the advertising slogan, the end consumer sometimes cannot remember what product was discussed. It turns out that what was supposed to help "promote" the product, acts in the opposite direction - it distracts attention from it. To avoid such marketing misunderstandings, experts advise not to overload advertising messages with creativity, because advertising creativity is not art for art's sake. Its main purpose is to be useful.
Bold ideas can be annoying. It is clear that by combining the uncombinable, it is enough just to achieve a memorization effect, but will this foster consumer loyalty? As a rule, an unpleasant advertising image repels, and the consumer subconsciously refuses such a purchase.
The perception of advertising messages occurs at the subconscious level, therefore, paradoxically, the unsympathetic appearance of a model in a shampoo advertisement can become a reason for rejecting it. A headline can be a powerful tool for inexpensive provocative print advertising. It forces you to pay attention to the advertising message. A figurative, emotionally vivid text of an advertisement is the second necessary condition for successful provocative marketing.
It is much more profitable for representatives of small and medium-sized businesses to work with creative copywriters.
provocative marketing should not be aggressive and too primitive.
Public insults of their competitors, the use of obscene language is considered bad form today. Otherwise, there will be no trace of the business reputation of the owner and the worthy reputation of the brand he offers. Or in connection with them, associations with “terry” bad taste will forever remain.
Advertising provocation has been used for a long time. It is not surprising that the birthplace of creativity on the verge of a foul is Western countries. But in the West, unlike the countries of the post-Soviet space, in recent years they have been trying to avoid advertising tricks that balance on the edge of morality.
What are slogans on the verge of a foul?
Slogans on the brink of a foul are advertising phrases or sentences (slogans, mottos, chants ... and so on) that almost violate laws, norms or generally accepted rules. Simply put, these are slogans for which their creators can be quite severely punished.
Why use provocative advertising slogans?
Provocative, sometimes shocking slogans are an excellent way to draw the attention of the audience to a product or service. Advertising provocations penetrate the consumer's subconscious, get fixed in it and trigger the effect of word of mouth.
In turn, this significantly reduces the cost of an advertising campaign.
Playing on emotions
The basis of foul slogans is human instincts and emotions.
When developing, such levers of provocative marketing can be used as:
- Sexual undertones.
- A call to outrage and resentment.
- Immorality.
- "Insult".
- Fear, panic, a sense of hopelessness.
- Gloat.
- Mystery.
- Taking "on the weak."
- Veiled foul language...
- …and others.
It is important for slogan developers not to overdo it and not overcreate. It is necessary to clearly define the line and not turn the advertising campaign into an annoying non-selling dummy.
Examples of provocation in advertising
"Dumplings with pepper"
"My favorite dumplings."
This is how the Daria dumplings were advertised in the now distant 1998. Foul - billboards depicting naked female buttocks sprinkled with flour. This move brought serious profits, despite the fact that only thirteen shields were installed in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
"Construction for men"
A small Belarusian construction organization came up with an unambiguous slogan to draw attention to the repair and finishing work. Their masterpiece read from the posters:
“If you are not gay, order repairs soon!”
"Construction work for men."
"Remote guys drinking" Bravo "
“Normal guys drink Bravo cocktails, normal guys shove all the girls.”
“Well, a very masculine magazine!”
The mega-famous Maxim magazine in our time at the beginning of its formation and promotion used a slogan developed on the basis of a “disguised mate”. The advertiser's masterpiece sounded like this:
"Clothing for average citizens"
Despite the fact that TSUM was fined a tidy sum for this slogan, the advertising campaign was a success - the provocation became one of the most striking in the history of advertising, was long remembered for its originality and managed to bring impressive profits. The slogan most directly offends the vanity and pride of a person:
"Who is not inPrada, that sucker!
Finally
Today, most consumers almost do not perceive advertising, they have developed a kind of immunity. Therefore, a number of companies use non-standard advertising to attract attention. How effective are these actions and how do they affect the potential audience?
Provocative advertising can hurt
Alexey Trefilov,
independent marketing expert
I consider myself a conservative school of advertising, so I am very sensitive to any departure from the classic advertising canons towards non-standard, shock advertising. In my opinion, the use of provocative moves is an unsafe experiment. A “creative” message can increase sales, but it can also damage the brand image in general. Examples of provocative advertising of the Eldorado electronics supermarket chain (the slogan “Suck for a penny!”), And Euroset (“Euroset - the prices are just oh ...”) are illustrative.
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The promotion of the latter company, for example, undressing for the phone, was discussed a lot on advertising forums. All these "low-budget communications" attracted a marginal target audience (the least solvent) and at the same time caused a strong disgust among the most solvent group of consumers. It is difficult to overestimate the harm that such promotions do to the brand, and they usually achieve a large number of contacts at the lowest possible price. This indicates a low level of marketing at the enterprise, and advertising in this case becomes just another way to waste money.
An example of provocative advertising that works
Evgenia Lenskaya,
director of marketing department at Promsvyazbank
Of course, shocking, provocative advertising is a working tool that attracts the attention of the consumer. Moreover, for some, shock advertising is one of the few tools available in today's aggressive "Olympic Games" of advertising budgets. The decision in favor of provocative advertising is ambiguous and depends on many factors: the strategy, the principles of the advertiser, the product or service itself, the goals and objectives of the planned advertising campaign. If the goal is to quickly and at any cost increase brand awareness, without fear of scaring the client, risking the company's reputation to a certain extent, perhaps this type of advertising can be effective. It is much more difficult to use provocation when it is necessary to lay the foundation for long-term partnerships.
If we talk about the marketing policy of Promsvyazbank, this is, first of all, a solid financial structure with a high reputation, so we try not to use provocative advertising.
Provocative ad: vulgar or smart and decent
Roman Ferainer,
creative director of Instinct (part of the BBDO Group)
In my opinion, shock advertising is not suitable for all companies. However, in some cases, provocation may be appropriate. In addition, a lot depends on the audience, the actions of competitors, the brand and, of course, on the people behind this very brand.
However, it is easy to make a vulgar provocation, much more difficult - smart and worthy. At the same time, I am sure that shock advertising is at least perfectly remembered. Eldorado and Euroset are a vivid example of this. Our company also used this tool when advertising IRU laptops. We released videos, the participants of which told what they do with friends: someone breeds them, someone loads them, and someone even sells them and assures the audience that this is a good business. At the end, the image was revealed: the friend was understood as an IRU laptop. This ad was a real success, propelling the brand from 18th to 2nd in its category.
The main thing is that unusual advertising works as intended.
Julia Ivanova,
Marketing, Sales and Communications Director of Arpikom Management Company
We've used shock ads to promote Goodman's restaurant more than once. A few years ago, as part of a fashion show, the company developed an outdoor advertisement whose characters were dressed in raw meat. Last year we ran a "Steaksual" ad campaign that featured a girl holding a raw steak. And this year they put up bright red flags calling for a juicy steak with blood, pepper, salt and a glass of good red wine 1 .
Our shocking, provocative message worked exactly as planned. In addition to the specific dishes we wanted to stimulate sales (and we succeeded in), we are promoting the Goodman brand itself, and now, in our own estimation, the image of the brand is becoming more active, more ambitious and more attractive to a younger audience.
At the same time, I note that shock advertising is only effective when the right marketing tools are involved, so it is suitable for those who are willing to take risks. It should also be remembered that with illiterate handling of such advertising, the opposite effect is possible: an outflow of customers, a negative perception of the brand.
A fine for provocative advertising can reach half a million rubles
Irina Goncharenko,
lawyer, Technology and Investment Group
If provocative advertising meets the requirements of the law, then, despite all the originality and creativity, it will not serve as a basis for holding the advertiser (or other entity) liable. This is possible only if the placement of such advertising violates the requirements of paragraph 6 of Art. 5 of the Law on Advertising (advertising contains swear words, obscene and offensive images, comparisons and expressions, etc.). If the advertisement is found to be unethical (not meeting the requirements of clause 6, article 5 of the Law on Advertising), then the advertiser may be held administratively liable by the antimonopoly authority on the basis of Art. 14.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and in this case will have to pay a fine from 100 thousand to 500 thousand rubles.
Whether the legally established amount of the fine is a weighty argument in order to refuse the use of provocative advertising, it will be up to the business entity to decide in each specific case.
1 On the Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, bright red flags were hung with an inscription in large print: "We demand blood! ..", then in small print: "...in a steak, salt, pepper and a glass of good wine!"
To be frank, the West was somewhat disappointed in provocative advertising. Most recently, Abercrombie & Fitch announced that half-naked models will be leaving their advertising campaigns. Well-known provocateurs from Calvin Klein also calmed down a bit. Of course, they couldn’t completely abandon the exposed panties, but the models have matured a bit and even dressed them up. The neurotic fever that brands competed with to see who shocked the public the most has largely subsided. But all this does not apply to the advertising market in the post-Soviet space. This is just where the taste comes in.
Take the children to the Lubyanka!
What should be an advertisement for a children's store? Most specialists lean towards something kind, gentle, with a clear message. And of course, as childish as possible. They turn to their parents, for this they demonstrate "happy children", straight from a fairy tale. Everything seems to be logical, but damn boring. I just want to add a little provocation, stand out, do something so that you will be remembered for sure. Probably, this is how the idea of the advertising campaign of the "Central Children's Store on Lubyanka" was born.
Children interrogate and torture their parents, forcing them to take them to the store, everything ends with a lovely slogan: “If you love a child, take them to the Lubyanka!” It is not surprising that the adult part of the Internet was outraged by such blackmail. And the association turned out not very inspiring. Although the Lubyanka is no longer the same, but the thought of buying clothes comes last. It is especially touching that they filmed it at the studio that produces Yeralash. Here, as they say, without options.
papa fsio
Advertisers use fears and phobias quite often, but most often they do it carefully so as not to scare the consumer too much. From the TV screen, we are constantly told about creeping caries, microbes partisan under the toilet lid, and it doesn’t hurt to insure against an abstract blonde on the road. But in general, a simple rule works: fear must be proportionate to the advertised product. With this, serious problems are observed in the advertising of the spray from the common cold "Rinostop".
The video begins with a little girl coming to her mother, who immediately reports that her father is not breathing. Then they show the blue-faced father ... Everything was resolved safely, but I had to be nervous. It's scary to imagine what an ad for something more serious than a runny nose would look like.
Finger sex
We must immediately warn you: the product that is advertised in the next video is strange in itself. This is an inTANTRIN tonic drink that somehow magically strengthens a person's sexual powers. Thanks to oyster extract. The power engineer just asks for it. It is quite difficult to create a video for such a product, but Smetana creative agency did their best.
Potential buyers are offered to refresh their memory and remember all kinds of positions for sex. And so that the censors have fewer questions, they show them with the help of fingers. The question was approached with fiction, there's nothing to say. It remains only to understand how it helps to sell soda.
Go three letters
It is especially “pleasant” when some state body acts as a provocateur. Their craving for mischief cannot be stopped even by a flurry of criticism. Suffice it to recall the reckless campaign "Pay your taxes and sleep well." This time the government of Moscow was noted. Officials launched a whole series of commercials under the slogan "Three letters understandable to everyone."
In this case, the city services portal PGU.mos.ru is advertised. The cherished “go to ...” is written on the dirty glass of the car, the school board and the refrigerator door. It's even a shame that the classic fence remained behind the scenes. There, CCGTs that are understandable to everyone would look much more harmonious.
Hang girls on all billboards!
However, advertisers show real prowess not in commercials, but on billboards and advertising posters. A lot can be shown in a video, but it’s impossible to squeeze a lot of sense into an unfortunate banner. And when every free meter is plastered with them, you also have to compete with your neighbors. So it turns out that the easiest way to attract the attention of a passerby is to stun him.
The Sevtekhnostroy 1 advertisement appeared in the Crimea, but it did not manage to stay on billboards for a long time. Vigilant FAS officers hurried to fine the firm and remove it from the streets. What exactly the construction company wanted to say with its poster remained a mystery.
The builders in Minsk decided to fight the crisis in their own way. Who doesn't hire masons and painters when they're out of work? Right! The advertisement clearly defines this scoundrel.
The MTS company decided that no one could surprise anyone with a sexy girl, and prepared a real surprise for all its subscribers. The dreams of the clients were entrusted to fulfill the bearded fairy. Probably, it was she who helped the little boy Conchita Wurst get to her most important ball and get a prize.
But best of all we had a good time in Yekaterinburg. A local design boutique hung a stylized image of the icon in the bars and restaurants of the city, where instead of saints there were juicers and corkscrews. On the advertisement itself, they wrote “For deliverance from torment in search of a gift”, so that believers would have no doubt at all what the authors had in mind.
Not giving in to provocations Maxim Usachev