Canvas edition 1
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ROM Chocolate, a Romanian chocolate brand, launched a shock marketing campaign replacing the Romanian flag on its packaging with the American flag. This challenged national pride and sparked outrage across Romania. Citizens organized protests online and offline to defend Romanian culture. After one week, ROM revealed the American packaging was a hoax and returned to the original design while launching a patriotic song. The campaign successfully rekindled national pride and loyalty to the domestic brand, boosting sales amid growing popularity of American competitors.
Canvas edition 1
- 1. MARQUE! 6 OCTOBER 2011 CANVAS Shock Marketing Shockvertising How many shock volts can you handle? "Shockvertising" is a way to jolt our senses, to cause an immediate reaction. Shock is sometimes used by marketers to grab the attention of consumers before applying the sales pitch. Shocking titles, pictures or actions never fail to get the attention of an audience. Think about the last time you heard something about any business that made you look up their website. In the overflow of information these days; how does your business stand out? While it can be an effective tactic it is Marketing is fun. Its making money business and the world. Each edition of important to and everything else that matters while having Canvas is based on a central theme from the understand when to use it and when not to. a blast. Marketing is a way of life. And we marketing world of today. in Marque, the marketing club of IIM The first edition is all about Shock -Matthew Bywater Rohtak, know it fully well. Marketing. So, how many shock volts can Canvas is the Newsletter of Marque, you handle? bringing to words and life the various - Bharadwaj Battaram concepts put in practice and evolving in Marque Sneak Peak • Social Issues - Tanuj Goyal • ROM Chocolate - Akshay Gupta • Barnardo’s - Ankur Shukla • United Colors of Benetton - Harsh Gupta ! PAGE 1
- 2. MARQUE! 6 OCTOBER 2011 SHOCK ADVERTISING – SOCIAL ISSUES All social awareness campaigns can broadly be the commercial spheres and has been in use for long divided into two categories – now. a) social malpractice Shockvertising is widely used in lot of countries b) health problems caused due to negligent for the promotion of anti-smoking initiatives. WHO behavior and/or bad habits also suggests pictures of rotting lungs, miscarried Any such campaign that aims at influencing a foetuses and bleeding brains should be put on all prevalent social belief or a persistent behavior of an tobacco packages because they are effective in individual must perform three important functions: preventing tobacco use. generate awareness about the consequences of these Due to the anxiety these ads tend to create there practices/behaviors, persuade people to avoid these remains a higher probability that the person behaviors and provide them support and guidance watching them will discuss it with others. This is for the same. very important in the case of advertisements issued “How to draw the attention of the target in the interest of general public where the success of audiences so as to impart a long lasting impression a campaign solely depends upon the number of which in turn will lead to increased participation and persons to which the message could be delivered. higher success?” is the question that arises. This is where shock advertising gains importance. Controversial by the very nature of it, shock advertising makes deliberate use of blunt slogans, provocative images and bold statements that challenge conventional understanding of social order and generally accepted norms thereby causing instant attention. It’s a much exploited marketing strategy in Stop domestic violence - Tanuj Goyal IIM Rohtak ! PAGE 2
- 3. MARQUE! 6 OCTOBER 2011 ROM CHOCOLATE of national ego and pride in the decided right from the start that Common sense would dictate Romanians. they would run the American that a marketing campaign The marketing campaign ROM for just a week, regardless challenging the nationalist pride became a point of discussion of the response, and then switch of your target market is not the across the country, and the back to the original packaging. best way to promote your Romanians felt like they had lost Also, it might be safe to assume product. The marketing team at a national symbol. A wave of that McCann would have done ROM Chocolate surely didn’t patriotism swept through the the analysis of the market before think so. And going by the country, and citizens stood launching a campaign of this immediate response to the united to defend the Romanian sort, which might have resulted campaign, they sure got that culture and their own flag. Flash in the brand name getting right. mobs, Facebook groups, Youtube destroyed. Such a campaign videos and debates on prime time obviously might not have worked ROM Chocolate is a in most other countries, where Romanian chocolate bar, with television were organized to protest the change. Meanwhile, a the changing of the national flag the Romanian flag on its to the American flag might have packaging since its launch in dedicated McCann team responded to comments posted been seen as a political agenda. 1964. This strategy had helped So, it is essential that shock them be the most popular online, and did their part to feed the debates. marketing also be carried out in chocolate in Romania till an ethical, non-offensive and recently, when it had started ROM let this public outcry professional manner. losing its market share to continue for a week, before American brands such as informing the public that the Shock marketing is utilized Snickers. Romania had been American ROM was actually a by a number of brands today, and going through political and hoax, and returning to the ROM, along with McCann economic crises, and the morale market with the original ROM Erickson, has certainly taken within the country was low. The packaging. Simultaneously, they advantage of the Romanian pride youth, especially, had started also launched a ROM Anthem in to reinvent their brand, and looking up to everything Romanian to tap into the newly customer loyalty to it. At the American, including their rekindled patriotic passion. The same time, they also managed to chocolates, and the Romanian campaign was a resounding achieve a more substantial goal, association of ROM was success – within the first two which no sales figures could becoming quite meaningless in weeks, the campaign reached match up to. They managed to this scenario. 67% of Romanians. It managed unite the people of Romania to generate 300,000 Euros worth towards a common goal, Enter, McCann Erickson something that is hardly heard of Romania. Instead of trying to of publicity without having to pay a cent for it, and the number in today’s world. So, it is safe to fight the growing apathy of the say that this marketing strategy youth, they decided to join them. of fans of the ROM Facebook by ROM was one of shock and page increased by 300%. ROM ROM decided an overnight went on the become Romania’s awe, while containing a hidden change in their packaging. most popular chocolate bar with social agenda as well. Instead of the Romanian flag, a 79% increase in sales, and The icing on the cake for their chocolate now had the outperformed the market by ROM and McCann Erickson American flag on it. It was now 20% in the most relevant Romania -.their campaign won advertised with a number of channels. two Grand Prix awards at the taglines such as “The Taste of 2011 Cannes Lions Festival of Coolness”, “Let’s Build America Some would argue that ROM went a step too far by testing the Creativity. Also, the American Here”, “Patriotism Won’t Feed ROM was sold out, as a You”, and “The American Dream ego of a nation with their Collector’s Edition item. now in the Romanian campaign. Indeed it was a huge Chocolate”. The purpose of this risk, and could have heavily shock tactic was to instill a sense backfired. However, ROM went - Akshay Gupta ahead with it, and managed to IIM Rohtak come out unscathed. They had ! PAGE 3
- 4. MARQUE! 6 OCTOBER 2011 GIVING CHILDREN BACK THEIR FUTURE (1999 - 2000) This campaign included seven press advertisements which depicted children in adult situations, such as a baby injecting heroin, a toddler clutching a bottle of whisky and another preparing to commit suicide. The advertisements aimed to show what potentially disastrous adulthoods await many of the disadvantaged and vulnerable young people Barnardo's works with. According to the copy, John is a 23 year old drug addict; however, in the image a baby is shown, complete contrast to portray the gravity of the situation. In all the advertisements, there is a sharp contrast between the child and the background. The child is white in color and the background is dark and violent. The objects like injections and bottle of whisky are used to shock people and make them realize that these children need their immediate help. BARNARDO’S, UK years Barnardo's was relatively Almost 80 per cent of the quiet about its new areas of public in UK think it is work, which resulted in low justifiable for charities to use public awareness of Barnardo's shock tactics in their advertising, and what we did. This according to a survey by pollsters encouraged Barnardo's to re- YouGov. Eighty-two per cent said Barnardo's is a British charity think its approach and so they shock tactics were acceptable if founded by Thomas John tasked the advertising agency they raised awareness of Barnardo in 1866, to care for Bartle, Bogle & Hegarty (BBH) domestic violence and 78 per vulnerable children and young in 1998, with raising awareness cent said the same was true of people. Barnardo's used to be a and repositioning Barnardo's as child poverty. children’s charity famous for its modern, relevant and deserving orphanages, which in 1966 they by bringing the public up-to-date began to close. Over the next 30 with the vital work they do. BARNARDOS’ SHOCK ADVERTISING “A good basic selling idea, involvement and relevancy, of course, are as important as ever, but in the advertising days of today, unless you make yourself noticed and believed, you ain't got nothing”. Every day we come across hundreds of advertisements which grab our attention. They have in them that one unexpected factor, that one difference, that one little thing that sometimes takes us by surprise and is shocking to our senses. ! PAGE 4
- 5. MARQUE! 6 OCTOBER 2011 CHILD POVERTY CAMPAIGN (2003) The campaign is largely regarded as the charity's most controversial print advertisement which was banned by The Advertising Standards Authority. This image of a newborn baby attracted a storm of controversy, after another leading children's charity claimed it was 'insulting to the very people they purport to help'. However, Barnardo's stuck by its campaign to raise awareness of how children born into poverty will grow up to be living in squalor, addicted to alcohol or drugs and be involved in crime. Image of the cockroach is synonymous with the concept of squalor in which the baby will develop. The idea of cockroach was to shock people and to make them think about what they can do to help children like the one used in this advert. In the other poster, they incorporated a well known saying into the campaign, if you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth it means that you're spoilt and given everything you want whereas the saying is turned on its head 'There are no silver spoons for children born into poverty'. The other items used in the campaigns were newspaper adverts, broadsheet press and methylated spirit bottle. The strengths of the campaigns are the images used because it rea$y demonstrates the seriousness of the topic and communicates the message we$. NEW LIFE CAMPAIGN (2005) seeking to make them unmissable.” The parodying the concept of birth can be offending for some. The advert of a girl growing up being abused is both visually shocking and stimulating. The images of a girl abused and looking at you with hope, stir emotions in you and it forces your senses to take some steps. The issue of prostitution and The concept behind the ‘new abuse of teenage girls is an issue life’ campaign is that Barnardo’s which has a very negative gives children a better start in life, connotation and the negative and therefore the chance of a better emotions have been visually future. Again in this campaign, they captured and presented to shock the have used visually stimulating viewers. The images make you feel images. Quoting, Andrew Nebel, the responsible for their plight if you charity's director of fundraising, don’t take any steps to save them. marketing and communications, “I The step is to donate money to can honestly say we were not trying to Barnardo’s charity group shock for theatrical purposes. We were - Ankur Shukla IIM Rohtak ! PAGE 5
- 6. MARQUE! 6 OCTOBER 2011 WHAT THE HELL IS THAT AD ABOUT? Shock Marketing is a type of marketing that becomes involved in a process of answering the “deliberately, rather than inadvertently, startles and questions: What does this image mean? Why does this offends its audience by violating norms for social values image appears with the Benetton logo? How do I feel and personal ideals.” about the subject of the image? What can I do? When This form of advertising is often controversial, images have shock value, they attract many people’s disturbing, explicit and may bring out provocative attention. People are bound to think about the image in political message; may not only offend but can frighten the ad and thus know some of the world’s problems in as well; uses scare tactics and elements of fear to sell a the process. product or deliver a public service message, making a Benetton’s shocking ads are designed to raise public “high impact.” It is often considered to have been awareness of social issues, issues that are global and pioneered by Benetton, the Italian clothing retailers universal. Using shocking images people are forced to which created the line United Colors of Benetton, and think about the topic. its advertisements in the late 1980s. The ads only have an image that grabs audience Today, Benetton Group is present in 120 countries attention in just a glance and a logo. The company around the world. Its retail network of 5,000 carries out a single campaign that runs all over the contemporary stores around the world, offers high world. These ads do not tell anyone to buy company’s quality customer services and generates a total turnover products and don’t even imply it. Because Benetton's of over 1.9 billion euro. The group provides employment clothes are sold around the world, the expenses incurred to 7,987 people around the world. to tailor campaigns to specific national markets would Benetton’s intuitional campaigns carry a big idea, a have been enormous. To reduce these high costs, UCB unique concept of showing shocking images to the brings the world's markets together by using a single world. The idea behind using shocking images was an advertisement that would appeal to many cultures, races, effort by Benetton to breakthrough the complacency religions, and lifestyles. The attempt is only to promote that exists in our society. Removing these images from discussion about issues which people might ignore if their familiar contexts and putting them in a new presented to them through some other channel. Hence, context, makes them more likely noticed, as the viewer it is an advertising that speaks across all cultural boundaries and raises social awareness by presenting powerful human and universal themes. UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON Because the guidelines for acceptable advertisements vary throughout the world, Benetton's campaigns were praised in some countries and damned in others. For example, a photograph of a priest and a nun kissing did not produce the extreme outcry in the United States as it did in Vatican City. - Harsh Gupta IIM Rohtak ! PAGE 6
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