Celebration of Scholars
Controversy: A Benefit or Detriment to Advertising
Name:
Casey Korb
Major: Marketing
Hometown: Naperville
Faculty Sponsor: Colleen OBrien
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis
Abstract
Taking advantage of social issues and topics to create a controversial advertisement can be a very beneficial marketing tool. Advertisers apply everyday conversations and use socially relevant topics in their advertisements that people are likely to have emotional responses to or are already passionate about and create the potential to produce a response from the public that garners attention, promotion, and recognition for the brand or product. Though using controversy as a marketing tool can be a risk, if used correctly, it can produce an extremely successful ad benefitting the company in the long run. With the risks being take into consideration, there are a few steps that can be taken to maximize the potential for success when using controversial topics as the foundation of an advertisement: 1) utilizing the narrative paradigm, or storytelling, as the basis of the ad and align the ad’s message with the storyline of the audience; 2) emphasizing collaboration in the creation of an ad, where diverse input helps create a stronger ad message and avoid unintended responses to the ad; and, 3) advertisers properly applying marketing information distribution practices (or market research) to help the creative teams designing the ad produce an ad that is fit for purpose and meaningful to the target audience.Submit date: March 25, 2019, 10:21 p.m.