Shock advertising: Not so shocking anymore. An investigation among Generation Y
Date
2014
Authors
Urwin, B
Venter, M
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Abstract
In today’s society, marketers are going to extreme measures to attract consumers’ attention in an attempt to break through
advertising clutter. A widely used method is shock advertising, however, the effectiveness of this method is questionable. This
study aimed to explore the effectiveness of shock advertising on Generation Y consumers in today’s society. Three variables
were analyzed, namely, level of shock, norm violation and memory recall, with five different types of shock (impropriety, moral
offensiveness, sexual references, disgusting images and religious taboos). The moderating effects of these relationships with
gender, religion and personal identity were also explored. By means of a quantitative study, 300 university students were asked
to complete questionnaires. The overall findings indicated that shock advertising has become obsolete and that marketers need
to implement alternative ways of ‘breaking through the clutter’. This paper provides marketers with a better understanding of
the (in)effectiveness of shock advertising and proposes the importance that marketers should alternative methods to capture
the attention of consumers.
Description
Keywords
Shock advertising, Memory recall, Norm violation, Type of shock
Citation
Urwin, B., & Venter, M. (2014). Shock advertising: Not so shocking anymore. An investigation among Generation Y. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(21), 203-214