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Controversy in Advertising

by Patrick Neiler
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 07:49AM
308 Views 21 Comments

Controversy, in my opinion, is one of the most effective techniques in advertising. What was the best campaign that created successful controversy? Why was this controversy so successful?

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 21 shown
Thursday, May 1, 2008. 03:03PM by Sonya B
Well, you're obviously not up to the challenge. I'm sorry to read this, Q. Buddy never would have figured it out.
Thursday, May 1, 2008. 12:49PM by John Q Public
Two problems: 1. Buddy doesn't do what he's told. 2. Buddy farts a lot, so we'd take the heat. Sorry.
Thursday, May 1, 2008. 08:07AM by Sonya B
Q, I say that since we're on his team, we actually take over and make him our puppet/figure-head. We'll rule from the back and he'll do everything we say and take all the heat.
Thursday, May 1, 2008. 07:17AM by John Q Public
True Sonya. Wait until Buddy becomes president, then we'll talk.
Thursday, May 1, 2008. 07:16AM by Sonya B
Steve McQueen is the ultimate in cool, but Buddy is no slacker.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 09:14PM by TJ Swafford
Buddy...not even with the Iceberg that sank the Titanic hidden in your lower G.I. could you be as cool as Steve McQueen...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 06:52PM by Buddy 'Friendly' Wachenheimer
You're both right, I must have lost my head for a second, I forgot about "The Thomas Crown Affair" and "Nevada Smith."
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 04:19PM by TJ Swafford
WORD SISTA Sonya...McQueen is KING
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 04:17PM by Sonya B
No one is cooler than Steve McQueen. I'm going to watch "The Great Escape" tonight just to remind myself of how cool he is. The Cooler King has two meanings.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 01:44PM by Buddy 'Friendly' Wachenheimer
I'm cooler than Steve McQueen ever was, but I don't have as much caked up fecal matter as John Wayne had in his intestinal tract when he died.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 11:39AM by Sonya B
...sigh...I give up...
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 11:09AM by TJ Swafford
Exactly Patrick - NOSTALGIA is the key to MOST ads. You hook into that and you hook into a lineage of brand followers.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 11:00AM by Patrick Neiler
I think it does a great job of creating nostalgia for an audience that hasn't seen commercials like that in 30 years. I think more brands need to tap into that aesthetic. I'd like to see more ads come out with that pre-"think small" aesthetic.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 10:45AM by Sonya B
We can't joke about Steve McQueen. He's the coolest. The creep-factor of Orville is the animation. He's real enough and off enough to just look disturbing. It's more the technology of how it was done than the fact that he is dead. However, that popcorn is not a generic product. It's positioned as "gourmet popping corn" and that commercial did not serve the brand. It detracted from it.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 09:49AM by TJ Swafford
Did they also bring back Steve McQueen and John Wayne from the dead in some recent ads? What's creepy about that? I mean to be honest...how many viewers of those spots really KNOW that Reddenbocker is actually dead? Its kinda like the song "Cruisin" from the movie "Duets" sung by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow...Do you realize how many people think that's the original version of that song? Same thing with ads. New buyers mean new markets and its like an unread newspaper...its new until YOU read it...no matter how long it takes you to read it. Is it true we put a man on the moon?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 09:17AM by Sonya B
Maybe it catches your eye, but do you want to associate a re-animated dead guy with your food? I'm a Reddenbocker fan, but that ad was weird and it made me not want to buy it. Reddenbocker is a high-end popcorn choice, so it should have expressed itself better than that. Good controversy? I'd say the Aqua Teen Hunger Force debacle. It appealed to its audience and made others aware of a show and movie they otherwise weren't. I know the movie didn't open well, but I'd guess it helped DVD sales. Anyone know for sure?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 08:28AM by Patrick Neiler
Alright i'll start it out. Orville Reddenbacher recently came back from the dead to appear in their new spots. People are saying that it is creepy, unethical and just plain weird. Every adhole says its terrible advertising because of the for-mentioned reasons. I believe that this controversy and discussion has positioned their brand ahead of their competition. No matter what people consciously think when they see this spot, when they pass it on the shelf, it catches their eye.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 08:22AM by Sam Bruehl
benneton.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 08:12AM by TJ Swafford
No...Happy as razor stubble in Pamela Anderson's thong.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 08:10AM by Patrick Neiler
Someone's a little cranky today
Wednesday, April 30, 2008. 08:06AM by TJ Swafford
Do your own homework. This reeks of a marketing 101 class project.

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