Ads That Hook People

The age old controversy of the value of shock in advertising rages again... This is a particularly heated debate in social marketing circles, where there's a fairly large body of research that suggests shock and fear don't work. Now this new campaign out of England...

The text reads: "The average smoker needs over five thousand cigarettes a year. Get unhooked."

The question then: Will this ad campaign from the British government shock people into noticing the ad and get them to respond to the message? Reuters reports that people are certainly noticing, with 800 complaints being filed so far.

What they don't report in Reuters is how have calls to the tobacco quitline increased based on this campaign. My personal guess is that there will be an initial spike in calls that will drop off quickly, corresponding directly with the shock wearing off... And then what do you do next? The agency may win awards for it, but is it the best strategy for the short and long-term... Probably not...