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Taste or captivating an audience - where do you draw the line
I currently subscribe to many RSS feeds. I find that this is the only way to stay current and up to date on a world where we have less and less time while getting inform more and more.
One of the feeds I subscribe to is Reuters "oddly enough", I find this feed quite interesting as it depicts the unusual and yet real side of humanity. You will be amazed to find out what people do on a daily basis.
However, today I was surprise to read a story about the latest anti-smoking campaign, this time in the United Kingdom. I always found the anti-smoking TV ads in US television a bit distasteful yet effective as they always captivate you, again mostly because of the poor taste. The UK ad shows people with a fish hook through them in quite a grotesque manner. The message "don't get hooked" being delivered with a note regarding the number of cigarettes smoked by an individual annually.
Thought the government said it believed people would not be seriously offended by the ads as the intention was to protect people from the harmful effects of smoking; this ad, attracted one of the highest numbers of complaints the advertising standards watchdog has ever received. Nearly 800 complaints were made about a series of poster, TV, newspaper and Internet ads which many felt were offensive and distressing, particularly to children.
The bottom line is that although this ad campaign turned to be very effective and got more exposure due to the controversial factors involved, sometimes you have to consider the audience and that you may be causing damage. In this case, I agree with many in that it can cause serious mental damage to children, especially since this were posted on billboards, TV ads, and many magazines accessible to minors. Someone ought to start drawing the line for marketeers and ad agencies, one thing is freedom of speech and we all love to have the right, but another is to cause mental anguish to others.Labels: advertising, reuters, RSS
One of the feeds I subscribe to is Reuters "oddly enough", I find this feed quite interesting as it depicts the unusual and yet real side of humanity. You will be amazed to find out what people do on a daily basis.
Thought the government said it believed people would not be seriously offended by the ads as the intention was to protect people from the harmful effects of smoking; this ad, attracted one of the highest numbers of complaints the advertising standards watchdog has ever received. Nearly 800 complaints were made about a series of poster, TV, newspaper and Internet ads which many felt were offensive and distressing, particularly to children.
The bottom line is that although this ad campaign turned to be very effective and got more exposure due to the controversial factors involved, sometimes you have to consider the audience and that you may be causing damage. In this case, I agree with many in that it can cause serious mental damage to children, especially since this were posted on billboards, TV ads, and many magazines accessible to minors. Someone ought to start drawing the line for marketeers and ad agencies, one thing is freedom of speech and we all love to have the right, but another is to cause mental anguish to others.
Labels: advertising, reuters, RSS
