Shock Factor Advertising has been used throughout the years to scare people into a decision.
For example, I’m sure you are familiar with the cigarette ads where some corroded body part is shown in order to repulse you onto a road free of smoking. As much as we all despise those commercials, they can be quite effective.
We just finished up a newspaper ad for Weston Medical Health Center that plays on this shock Factor in advertising. Their ad features a real picture of knee surgery that will most definitely turn heads and several stomachs (I know it did ours!). Weston Medical’s aim is to turn people away from knee surgery and consider a non-surgical alternative with very little, if any, pain involved.
According to an article on marketplace.org, shock ads work because they play on emotions. Even though people may understand the consequences of smoking or the seriousness of knee surgery, knowledge alone is not enough to stop them. So, if you are in need of knee surgery and have been hiding under a rock to avoid it and if your product or service is not getting the attention it deserves, maybe you should give your ad a shocking spin.
If you would like to read more about shock factor advertising, check out this article.
