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QUESTIONS

1. What are the basic objectives of advertising? What are the advertising
objectives of Benetton?

Basic objectives of advertising


Advertising is one part of the promotional mix, and therefore advertising objectives will be set
in line with overall Promotional and Marketing Objectives, which in turn will relate to the
organisations' overall Corporate Objectives. Advertising objectives are the communication tasks
to be accomplished with specific customers that a company is trying to reach during a particular
time frame. A company that advertises usually strives to achieve one of four advertising
objectives
 Trial Inform
 Continuity
 Brand switching
 Remind
 Switchback.
Selecting of the objective usually depends on where the product is in its life cycle.
Trial: - The purpose of the trial objective is to encourage customers to make an initial purchase
of a new product. Companies will typically employ creative advertising strategies in order to cut
through other competing advertisements. The reason is without the first trial of a product by
customers, there will not be any repeat purchases.
Inform: - It explain how the product works, provide information on pricing, and build
awareness of both the product and the company. Such objectives are normally pursued at the
launch of a new product, or re-launch / up-date of an existing product.
Continuity: - Continuity advertising is a strategy to keep current customers using a particular
product. Existing customers are targeted and are usually provided new and different
information about a product that is designed to build consumer loyalty.
Brand Switching Companies adopt brand switching as an objective when they want customers
to switch from competitors’ brands to their brands. A common strategy is for a company to
compare product price or quality in order to convince customers to switch to its product brand.
Remind: - It is used to maintain interest and awareness of a well established product in the
market, often in the latter stages of its product life cycle. It is often used at the Point-of-Purchase
to remind consumers of the Brand.
Switchback Companies subscribe to this advertising objective when they want to get back
former users of their product brand. A company might highlight new product features, price
reductions, or other important product information in order to get former customers of its
product to switchback.
Advertising objectives of Benetton
United colours of Benetton followed entirely a different type of objectives for their advertising.
Various objectives that Benetton followed for their advertising are
 Carrying out corporate social responsibility
Benetton wanted people to think about the advertisements of the brand so that
It can help in eradicate the indifferences prevailing in the world. An image can be perceived in
the way we want to perceive. By using different nations people they want to create an idea that
everyone is same and tried to bring equality in the world from very beginning of the company.
Those advertisements elevated the indifferences in the world and also promoted world peace.
 Creating distinctive company image
By following shock advertising since 1982 company created a different image
in the minds of the consumers. Because of the shock advertising and bringing out innovative
themes especially controversial images it positioned itself in an entirely different way in the
minds of the consumers.
 Brand awareness
The controversial images or themes they used for promoting the brand created
vast awareness in public.
 Creating a new advertising scenario
In 1982 Benetton came out with an different type of advertising called shock
Advertising which any other even won’t think of doing that kind of promotion for their brand. It
is a kind of revolution in the advertising sector at that time.
 Serving global audience- with a single campaign throughout the world
Benetton followed single theme for their promotional campaign throughout
the world. Promotional strategy was same throughout the world mainly highlighting the
concept of thinking about the discrimination in the society.
2. Discuss the pros and cons of the shock advertising campaign that Benetton used for
many years.

Advantages

 Shocking content in an advertisement significantly increases attention


 Benefits memory
 Positively influences behaviour. 
 Consumers are more likely to remember shocking advertising content over advertising
content that is not shocking. 
Disadvantages

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 Overexposure to shock advertising will result in a public that is “desensitized” to
advertisements that employ shock tactics, particularly those with overtly sexual and
violent images, some advertisements promoted homosexuality.

3. Oliviero Toscani has defended Benetton’s use of shock advertising by


noting that it constitutes nothing less than a debate between advertising
and art. He argues that potentially offensive images are acceptable in
the world of art and journalism while in other realms such as
advertising they are not. Do you agree with Toscani’s position?
Art is something where we can express all the emotions or even portrait the image of
world by using some characters. People will really enjoy the art and they also think about the
art and the mood of the artist who made that. There are so many images/ arts/ paintings which
are successful in making the people think and react to certain situations.
As he said “potentially offensive images are acceptable in the world of art and journalism but
they are not accepted in advertisements”. The perception of consumers about advertisements
are- it is a tool which conveys the message of the product like what it is, how it satisfies their
needs, how it works etc. it is very difficult for consumers to relate a product with entirely a
different kind of activity. But Benetton was very successful in creating awareness among the
people on both communal indifferences and the products. It was in discussions because of the
way they promoted and provoked consumers to buy or go for trail of the product. Many people
accepted the awareness campaign and also the product. As the main objective of advertising is
to create awareness and pull customers for the brand. Benetton achieved this by doing shock
advertising.
Today people are ready to accept the truth and consumers also can analyse how much of
the advertisement can be true. This awareness generated because of the competition increased
in the market. Because of the method of advertising followed by the company it is projected in
the minds of consumers as a responsible brand and also a quality brand. There might be some
barriers in between while going through shock advertising but it do not mean that it is not
accepted by the consumers.

4. Can you think of any other companies that use shock advertising? For what
type of companies might this type of advertising be effective?
Calvin Klein

Calvin Klein of Calvin Klein Jeans has also received media attention for its controversial
advertisements in the mid-1990s. Several of Calvin Klein's advertisements featured images of
teenage models, some "who were reportedly as young as 15" in overly sexual and provocative
poses. Although Klein insisted that these advertisements were not pornographic, some
considered the campaign as a form of "soft porn" that was exploitative, shocking, and
suggestive. In 1999, Calvin Klein was the subject of more controversy when it aired
advertisements of young children who were only wearing the brand's underwear. This "kiddie
underwear ad campaign" was pulled only one day after it aired as a result of public out lash. A

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spokesperson from Calvin Klein insisted that these ads were intended "to capture the same
warmth and spontaneity that you find in a family snapshot."

U.K government used shock advertising for the promotion of no cancer campaign
throughout the country by using the images of cancer effected patients. Later many countries
followed U.K and made compulsory that those images should be printed on the products of
tobacco.

This kind of advertising is also used by different N.G.O’s for promoting their activities;
especially N.G.O’s who work for the conservation of wild life used these kind of advertising.

This kind of advertising can be used for Diesel, killer in garments, axe in deodorant segment
etc.

5. Do you agree with Benetton’s decision to drop the use of shock ads and
return to the use of more conventional ads?
From the year 1982 Benetton was projected as the company which is known for

Its quality, style of promotion and responsibility it has towards society. Continuously it
created awareness on both indifferences and the product by which Benetton is in the TOMA
of the consumers. By changing the way of advertising from shock to conventional it may not
stand for the word “corporate social responsibility” which Benetton followed from it origin.
This may create a different perception in the minds of the consumers about the principles and
values of the company. It may lose the trust that had in the consumers. If people perceive that
the company cannot stand for its values, then Benetton will physically exist but mentally it
will be erased in the minds of the consumers. So this is not at all a good decision by Benetton
to tighten the thread around its neck.

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