On Disgust, Revulsion and Other Forms of Offensive Advertising

8/11/2019 On Disgust, Revulsion and Other Forms of Offensive Advertising

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European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 5, 2001 Pages 61-65FC! C"#$%ER RE$EARC&' "# ()$*$+, REV$)"# A#( "+&ER F"R%$ "F "FFE#$)VE

A(VER+)$)#*$ephen .ro/n, niversi o lser, nied !ingdom

&ope $chau, +emple niversi, $AA.&"RRE#+ A.$+RAC+

3arhol /as /rong Far rom 4eing amous or ieen minues, adverisers are currenl enoing heir ieenminues o inam )nspired 4 he provocaive escapades o .eneon, Calvin !lein and French Connecion amongsman ohers, conemporar adverising campaigns seem deermined o aron and oend he consuming pu4lic+his paper oers a polog o oensive adverising aemps o accoun or he rise o provocaive promoions andconends ha he gro/h o gross-ou should 4e cele4raed raher han condemned

"FFE#$)VE "PE#)#*'Fuc7, uc7, uc7, uc7, uc7, uc7, uc7e-uc78 As ever movie-4u 7no/s, he oregoing org o e9pleives ishe irs line o he smash-hi, eel-good, happ-clapp amil ilm,Four Weddings and a Funeral +he line,admiedl, is no in he same league as '&ere8s loo7ing a ou, 7id8, '+omorro/ is anoher da8, '&asa la visa,

4a48 or, indeed, '+o inini and 4eond8 .u e/ /ould den ha i is remar7a4l resonan, /ell nighunorgea4le %ore remar7a4le sill is he ac ha or ears aerLady Chatterleys Lover/as 4anned or is useo he F-/ord, i no/ a7es eigh uc7s o do he /or7 o one and, even hen, he /ord isel has almos ceased ooend As $heidlo/er :1;;5, p i9< archl o4serves in his culural hisor o s/earing, 'he F-/ord is increasinglheard in he 4es-regulaed living rooms8) uc7 and is cognaes are no/ considered innocuous, 4ordering on reined, he same canno 4e said o FC! Anacronm or French Connecion nied !ingdom, a ashion-or/ard clohing reailer, i /as coined in 1;;= 4 aceadverising cop/rier, +revor .eaie :&ellen and Presco 2000oned /ih 'cu7 me8, 'cu7 ashion8 and analogous semi-oensive 4lines, no onl sopped raicand simulaed a lood o complains, 4u i /as ormall censured 4 he Adverising $andards Auhori, heindusr8s oicial ! /achdog :$her/in 1;;;


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help move a e/ more C(s and compuer games And, Carls4erg reminds drin7ers o is amous (anish lager ha'+here8s no Room a he )nn8As as moving consuma4les go, ho/ever, Carls4erg is a veria4le angel o virue .ud/eiser gahers clan couch

poao, complee /ih lolling ongues, rolling ees and radiional pre-game saluaion, Wassup An Ausralianmanuacurer o la9aive chocolae claims o 4e '+he +hunder rom (o/n nder8 Ari>ona8s ani-smo7ing campaignsho/s a eenage girl supping rom her 4oriend8s soda conainer in a dar7ened movie heare, onl o discover hai is ull o cigaree spile and 4ronchial mucus A +V ad or A%-P% convenience sores sresses he sheerrevolingness o is 5;-cen ho dogs, as does he 'mess 4urger8 campaign or Carl8s @r, a Caliornian as oodchain, /hich reoices in he su4lime slogan, 'i i doesn8 ge all over he place, i doesn8 4elong in our ace8 $oncellular, similarl, parades a cavalcade o hree smarl dressed emale e9ecuives, /ih disgusingl misappliedma7e up, nauseaingl unrimmed nasal hair and revolingl 7echup-sained chin respecivel #o o 4e oudone,he $i9 Flags heme par7 eels ha he 4es /a o adverise is monser roller coaser is o depic a saisiedcusomer vomiing ino a rashcan )n glorious echnicolourA4ove and 4eond 4ad language, 4lasphem and 4odil uncions, adverising8s oensives :as creaives are

presuma4l 7no/n no/adas< are no averse o se9ism, le/dness and li4idinal over7ill :Chienden and $aner 2000&olgae 2000 +omp7ins 2000


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a4le, *i4son semi-acousic guiar Bhough he resulan scraches are no so muchreassuringl e9pensive as deepl oensive For some consumers, a leas

REV"+)#* REA$"#$3hile a classiicaion o crapulence can help researchers comprehend he sheer scale o adverisers8 oensiveam4iions, i does no e9plain whyhe choose o do so Clearl, an aemped e9planaion canno 4einconroveri4l proven, no leas 4ecause adverisers hemselves ma 4e incapa4le o ariculaing heir revolingraionale #everheless, i can 4e enaivel hpohesised ha 4oh micro-scale :indusr speciic< and macro-scale:4roader environmenal< acors are a /or7 3ih regard o he ormer, our main reasons or he rise o revulsioncan 4e posied +he irs o hese is ha oensiveness is eecive A a ime /hen consumers are 4om4arded da anddail 4 counless commercial messagesBmos o hem sae, saniised and deadl serious B4lasphem, ri4aldrand scaolog sand ou rom he cro/d in all heir gor glor )n he /ords o ne/ /ave adverising gurus, .ondand !irshen4aum :1;;


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shees o e9ra-so oile issue are aached o maga>ine adsor a Ciroen spors car, /hich guaranees a 'posiivelsphincer /iching 0-60 in =2 seconds8 a child relieves isel in he sree o remind .riish dog-o/ners o heirrecal responsi4iliies a dead horse hangs rom a hoo7, here4 promoing animal /elare a single raised digi, heinernaional sign language o o4sceni, helps sell cheap cigars a na7ed /oman is ied o a chair /ih iems oclohing rom he 'slighl /ised8 Full Circle range he Vegearian $ocie ariculaes is 'much easier no o eamea8 message /ih phoographs o operaion scars la4elled 'somach cancer8, 'hroa cancer8, '4o/el cancer8 a man

is 7ic7ed viciousl in he croch or 4orro/ing his girlriend8s #issan /ihou permission he na7ed model in a lie-dra/ing class is smien 4 an )mpulse 4od-spraed ar suden, onl o 4e em4arrassed 4 his ensuing erecion adead man8s 4od complee /ih engorged mem4er adverises $7 .roadcasing8s movie channel :mean/hile hePla4o Channel promises '%orgasms8on o pose he provocaiveuesion, '/h pa or i /hen ou can ge i or ree?8 "gilv and %aher concocs compleel phone acs a4ouhe incidence o underage se9 B61J o 12-ear olds are se9uall acive, no less Bonl o disingenuousl claim hahe represen 'he saisics o he uure8 and, in a e94oo7 e9ample o he no-so-so sell, a cinema ad orondon8s *rea Frog e/eller sore ends /ih ha cele4raed commercial sho/-sopper, he a4led magic 4ulle omar7eing communicaions' ') ou don8 li7e iuc7 o8+he ma7e @err (ella Famina8s :1;=0< 'rom hose /onderul ol7s /ho gave ou Pearl &ar4our8 seem li7e amodel o mar7eing decorum"ensive as oda8s adverising undou4edl is, and much hough i o/es o he indusr8s inernal machinaions,he gro/h o gross-ou canno 4e separaed rom macro-scale developmens "nce again, our main e9planaoracors can 4e ideniied, he irs o /hich is socieal $impl pu, his suggess ha adverising relecs sociallacceped, i no universall endorsed, norms and e9pecaions 3e live, aer all, a a ime o supposed naionaldum4ing-do/n, /hen shoc7-oc7s rule he air/aves, pornograph pervades he )nerne, elevision channels arechoc7-a-4loc7 /ih 'shoc7umenaries8, and prominen al7-sho/ hoss, such as Conan "8.rien, openl 4oas o gas-

passing, sniing and 7indling compeiions )s i surprising, hereore, ha oda8s adverisers are 4ending /ih he/ind, as i /ere? A a ime, moreover, /hen Boung .riish Ariss li7e (amien disseced-sheep &irs, +race dir-

4ed Emin, Chris elephan-dung "phili and Ron dead-dad %uec7 adop a )-see-no-shi aiude, is i an /onder haEnglish adverisers endeavour o oudoo /haever B.As hro/ a hem? A a ime, indeed, /hen cul caroon seriesli7e outh Parkem4race Chrismas poo, oeal milliner and chocolae sal 4alls, amongs ohers oo mephiic omenion, and each summer unailingl e9crees a op grossing gross-ou movie B!um" and !um"er :Vesuvius odiarrhoea erups in (ol4 sereo


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seriousness and socieal responsi4iliies, hese das no-one /ans o gro/ up, never mind gro/ old 3e reside in a/orld o middle-aged eenage re4els, /ho /ere /eaned during he pos /ar 4oom Bhe elevision age Band /hose/orld vie/ /as shaped, in is enire, 4 he eans /earing, roc7 8n8 rolling, +ol7ien reading, drugs a7ing, ani-esa4lishmen ehos o pop culure )n his socie o perpeual Peer Pans and os .os, /here even heesa4lishmen is ani-esa4lishmen and here is nohing le o re4el agains :e9cep re4elliousnesses, all he e9cremen rises o he surace And so, /hen he dialecic /asro>en, all he sacred e9cremen o he dialecic came o he surace 3hen he uure isdeep-ro>en Band, indeed, even he presen B/e shall see all he e9cremen come uprom he pas +he pro4lem hem 4ecomes one o /ase ) is no us maerial su4sances,including nuclear ones, /hich pose a /ase pro4lem 4u also he deunc ideologies,4gone uopias, dead conceps and ossili>ed ideas /hich coninue o pollue our menal

space &isorical and inellecual reuse pose an even more serious pro4lem hanindusrial /ase 3ho /ill rid us o he sedimenaion o cenuries o supidi? As orhisor Bha living lump o /ase, ha ding monser /hich, li7e he corpse in )onesco,coninues o s/ell aer i has died Bho/ are /e o 4e rid o i? :.audrillard 1;;, p26, * :1;;5ina, R and "livia, P :1;;=

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On Disgust, Revulsion and Other Forms of Offensive Advertising