Last week, an online ad dropped that took the internet by storm. This ad was for a mattress store, it featured 9/11 imagery, two towers of mattresses falling over, and then one of the employees saying they would never forget. The ad drew criticism instantly as being in poor taste. The owner of the store claimed he had no knowledge of the ads, and declared that the store would be closed, and that 30% of any sales this weekend would be donated to the 9/11 foundation.
A similar, though vaguely less offensive, yet still tacky, product display in Florida also garnered media attention. It prominently featured two stacks of sodas shaped in the towers in front of a wall of soda shaped like the American Flag. This display strategy was apparently put forward by Coke and approved by the supermarket.
This brought to mind the idea of Shock Advertising. To me this raises the question of where the line is drawn between acceptable and unacceptable shock advertising. Is there ever a tasteful way for companies to evoke tragedies? Should they bother trying? Or is evoking them at all going too far, even for a shock advertising strategy?
Businessbrokendown.com recommends using shock advertising in cases where it’s important to build awareness and start conversations about controversial topics. It does not appear to be an effective strategy to move general products of any kind, and appears to be much more trouble than it’s worth, even if the mattress ad had been intentionally offensive.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/San-Antonio-Mattress-Store-Closes-After-Twin-Towers-Sale-Video-392998291.html
http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/09/us/911-offensive-commercials-trnd/
http://www.businessbrokendown.com/entrepreneurship/shock-advertising-is-it-right-for-your-business/