The More Provocative the Ad, the Worse the Results

Provocative advertising carries risks. United Colors of Benetton's edgy campaigns have drawn boycotts and lawsuits, and Kraft's ad for its new all-purpose salad dressing featuring a nearly naked muscular man sparked a major uproar last year. Despite the backlash, the company did not bow to pressure to pull the ad.

However, ads with overly sensational themes often fail to achieve their marketing goals, and the barrier to creating such ads is low, so many businesses can do it. Therefore, using provocative ads requires caution. According to our research, ads that are too controversial make people uncomfortable, reducing the likelihood that they will pay attention to or discuss the ad.

We studied 208 articles on the news site Topix, having third-party raters score each article on a scale from 1 (not at all controversial) to 7 (highly controversial). If an article sparked "controversy, debate, or disagreement" among people, we classified it as controversial. We then tracked reader comments within 15 days of publication. Results showed that articles with slightly controversial content received more reader feedback than those with moderate controversy, but when an article's controversy score approached 4.6 (just under half), reader feedback declined. This indicates that even moderate controversy is enough to suppress discussion.

Our subsequent experiments confirmed this, and also identified factors that can mitigate the negative impact of controversial ads. We had participants imagine engaging in online communication under different conditions: anonymous or identified, and with strangers or friends. We found that anonymity somewhat reduced discomfort and made people more willing to discuss moderately controversial topics. However, when communicating with friends, participants felt no discomfort and were willing to discuss even highly controversial topics freely.

For brand managers and marketers looking to boost sales with controversial ads, our research offers important insights. Advertising should find the optimal balance, where the imagery or content captures interest without causing discomfort. Marketers can tailor this balance based on their ideal channel and audience. For example, in online communication, given the anonymity of the internet, brands can use moderately controversial ads to stimulate more discussion. If targeting family and friend circles, they might consider more controversial ads.

In summary, slightly provocative ads can be effective, but if they are too provocative, they yield almost no benefits. It's a case of going too far being as bad as not going far enough.