Does it pay to shock? Reactions to shocking and nonshocking advertising content among university students

Although the use of shocking content in advertising appeals has been widely adopted, the effectiveness of such communication strategies has not been empirically investigated.

Does It Pay to shock?

Reactions to shocking and nonshocking advertising content among university students

Darren W. DahlUniversity of British ColumbiaKristina D. Frankenberger Western Oregon UniversityRajesh V. Manchandra University of Manitoba

In an age when consumers are exposed to an estimated 3,000 advertisements per day (Lasn, 1999), what does it take to get an advertisement noticed? For many advertisers, the answer is shock. Although opinions vary on whether shock is a legitimate creative technique (Shannon, 1995; Van Munching, 1998) or a gratuitous attention-grabbing gimmick (Horovitz, 1992; Van Munching,...

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