ANALYSIS: Live Issue - Asia showing penchant to shock - FCUK and Benetton are big fans of shock advertising, but few others can pull it off

<p>Nothing stands out like shock - at least that seems to be the </p><p>current belief, judging by the spate of suggestive campaigns trading </p><p>heavily on sex to sell. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the last few weeks, unlikely advertisers like Yves Saint Laurent and </p><p>Christian Dior, mobile phone maker Ericsson, Fosters beer and telecom </p><p>carrier Sunday have pumped up the shock volume of their campaigns. In </p><p>the process, they've earned the wrath of Asia's uncompromising audience </p><p>with their efforts relegated to the banned heap. Do such campaigns work </p><p>beyond the initial shock it delivers? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>UK-based French Connection cleverly used shock tactics to build up the </p><p>brand through its FCUK campaign, seeing it as the "only way to get </p><p>attention" and trigger a high sense of awareness and empathy among its </p><p>youngish target market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Since it thrives on publicity generated through controversial marketing, </p><p>getting banned is "just fine". All well and good as its series of FCUK </p><p>promotions, previously pulled from Singapore, has again caused a stir in </p><p>the international market, resulting in a ban in the UK for its summer </p><p>2001 campaign. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A spokeswoman for French Connection in the UK explains: "Getting banned </p><p>is fine by us - it means we get more free publicity because it is </p><p>banned. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We like our shock tactics - our customer is into it - we've been banned </p><p>again in the UK this summer for fcukinkybugger.com. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It might upset our customers' parents, but that's just fine as it's the </p><p>kids that buy our clothes. One thing is we always use humour." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Back in Asia, Joe Bananas produced an ad for Fosters beer promoting the </p><p>bar and brew in anticipation of last month's Hong Kong Rugby Sevens. But </p><p>the ad, featuring a well-endowed woman offering to show her jugs to </p><p>those buying jugs of Foster's, was pulled from the rugby union's </p><p>magazine. The bar retaliated by blowing the print ad into a "massive </p><p>banner" and draping it around its outlet in Hong Kong's bar strip. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Joe Bananas general manager, Mario Musumeci, insists that the </p><p>in-house-produced ad was done tastefully. "There is absolutely nothing </p><p>wrong with the ad. It may piss people off, but no one will miss it </p><p>now." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The advertising industry described the ad as "cliched", but Musumeci </p><p>says it clearly illustrates the bar's image and brand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, the mounting body count of campaigns driven off air by Asia's </p><p>uncompromising public has raised concerns among the region's advertising </p><p>professionals, who fear the spate of bans will inevitably curb </p><p>creativity. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>When YSL and Dior fell foul of the Hong Kong public earlier this year, </p><p>the luxury brands' move to readjust their creative sent a troubling </p><p>message to the local ad community. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The YSL campaign showed a model wearing nothing but a pair of stiletto </p><p>heels. It was modified for its Hong Kong run. Numerous public complaints </p><p>forced Dior to pull its outdoor billboards showing a scantily-clad </p><p>though somewhat muddied model. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Christian Dior spokeswoman, Tansy Lau, said Hong Kong was the only Asian </p><p>market that found issue with the brand's latest campaign. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Using shock executions is of course a double-edged sword. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Leo Burnett's Singapore-based chairman and regional creative director, </p><p>Linda Locke, says advertising agencies should carefully consider the </p><p>product and service, and whether a campaign that aims to stun can </p><p>ultimately harm the brand. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"I think most of the time it depends on the product and service, and </p><p>what you're communicating." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In a Burnett ad for the Breast Cancer Foundation in Singapore, shock was </p><p>a justifiable tactic. "Basically, what you think is a woman's breast in </p><p>the ad turns out to be that of a man. This is to point out that even men </p><p>can get breast cancer. This type of shock was used in a relevant way," </p><p>says Locke. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Women who are apathetic are shocked into realising it is a possibility, </p><p>and it is a relevant way of getting them to pay attention to a serious </p><p>subject." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But the Foster's ad, in Locke's opinion, is "extremely tired and </p><p>cliched, offering a very old joke". However, Locke finds advertisements </p><p>such as the YSL campaign featuring voluptuous model Sophia Dahl </p><p>tastefully erotic, and "people offended by such ads are likely to be </p><p>vexed by any naked body". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Interestingly, the Dior ad passed through strict Malaysian censors, but </p><p>not the Hong Kong public. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>David Chow, Dentsu's head of creative, blasted Hong Kong's conservative </p><p>disposition and tendency to self-censorship. Hong Kong's "double </p><p>standards" leave agencies baffled and perplexed in the censorship versus </p><p>creativity debate, he added. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Hong Kong as a whole is very conservative and practices </p><p>self-censorship. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>People here ban on purely certain values. People comment on certain ads </p><p>that they find offensive and call and complain. That is the final </p><p>say. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>There is no standard here. We advertising professionals have nothing to </p><p>measure our work against." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Chow cited Hong Kong telecom company Sunday as an example. The company's </p><p>latest ad campaign is charged with gay sexual innuendo and is believed </p><p>to be Hong Kong's first major attempt to target the "pink dollar". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It is wonderful that Sunday has the idea and courage to run this type </p><p>of campaign. It all comes down to values. If you look at what's on the </p><p>news, it is shocking. But, at the end of the day, self-regulation makes </p><p>it very difficult for agencies to do their job. We constantly have to </p><p>consider what is acceptable and what's not," he says. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Agencies working on regional briefs face the greatest challenge. Working </p><p>across various cultures in Asia can mean a campaign must be tweaked for </p><p>every market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In the case of mobile phone maker Ericsson, an ad featured in the China </p><p>Times newspaper in Taiwan was pulled after drawing harsh criticism from </p><p>an overseas anti-child pornography group. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The full-colour ad featured a young woman wearing a school uniform and </p><p>holding the new Ericsson T20 phone, which displayed text mirroring sex </p><p>advertising. The ad was placed by Ericsson's ad agency in Taiwan - </p><p>Results Advertising. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Surprisingly, Ericsson spokeswoman, Felicia Uwa, claimed the company did </p><p>not receive any complaints from customers in Taiwan. The controversy, </p><p>she said, was the result of "cultural differences", highlighted in this </p><p>case by a situation which could appeal to the Chinese market but had </p><p>offended foreigners. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ad executives agree shock tactics work best when they are unexpected, </p><p>but admit brands take a gamble each time a shock ad is created. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Shocking consumers only works when you know your target's tolerance </p><p>level. If you shock more than once, you have to make sure you can still </p><p>make an impact," Chow warns. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"It also only works on certain subjects. The best people to shock are </p><p>those that don't expect it. In Asia, places like Hong Kong are still </p><p>conservative so when producing a shock ad you really have to think </p><p>twice." </p><p><BR><BR> </p>