Does this ad terrify you? Good. Then as a marketer, the strategy worked. Hopefully you’ll be thinking of all the consequences you could face if you’re not safe.
As part of advertising, I’ve noticed the Victorian government uses fear to motivate actions from consumers. It is an effective technique used in direct marketing and you see it everywhere in ads, posters, and billboards – and these examples are just for sun damage awareness; luckily I couldn’t find the surgery scar ones that are on the trams. What happened to Slip, Slop, Slap?. This risky technique could damage their brand by separating themselves from their consumers.
…but it gets much more controversial; an example being this ad from Vic Roads:
Driving is a LIFE OR DEATH situation? I’m sure it can be, but I’m more concerned with aggressive city drivers then a high speed rural crash. If driving is putting a chunk of metal into high velocity, then swimming should be considered the act of not drowning. Also, did I see the pilot on fire? Check out the others – but only if you’re not a redhead. At least they aren’t graphic like this (not for the weak stomach) smoking campaign or in-depth as this WorkSafe ad. Can I really break my leg jumping off a step? Speaking of smoking ads, look at this one where the producers briefly left the child alone to make their point. I’m going to stop with commercials now because I want to keep this clean, but feel free to skim through Youtube.
This marketing may trigger consumers to look into the consequences of every action, but all that is asked is for the community to be safe since there are high reports of certain incidents. It may be effective, but it’s important to have a strong connection between the public and their governing bodies. All I’m saying is: let’s not discourage people from possibly taking that motorcycle lesson and instead, report the facts with less terror
…or at least let me enjoy a tv dinner.