Offensive Ads - Virtus Crosses the Line into Very Bad Taste

3 comments

1. I kinda agree, however it was not lost on me that the 'shock' tactics of the campaign appear to be working well. It provoked you to blog about it, including the image, and linking to their site - which in turn I clicked on, and then spent 15 mins going through their image catalogue (which IMHO is a pretty impressive piece portfolio of work).
   
   Images of death are not altogether bad - I think that it's a shame we "hide" death from western culture - it's almost a taboo to die - the faux pas! It’s the clear tangling of death and sex which is creepy. As far as its advertising value - they are a communications company, and so they have a high degree of licence to shock when promoting themselves - their portfolio then does the trick.
   
   In regards to similar examples - the one that springs to mind is that famous “United Colors of Benneton� campaign a few years back, that used blood, and new-born babies, and aids, and needles. It was “shocking� and “repulsive� - unlike the one above though - I fail to see how they managed to sell clothes with this approach.

   Comment by Phil Cockfield [Visitor] · http://phil.cockfield.net — 11/15/05 @ 00:18

   
   
2. Creating controversy, as long as it's kept within boundaries, can be a very effective advertising technique.
   
   Personally, I believe this ad is well done, other than the apparent lack of connection between the subject and the product (which I believe could be fixed with a simple subtitle). The main idea behind any advertisement is to attract attention to the product, which it has certainly done.
   
   Phil, every life form has two basic purposes. Reproduction; to create the new, and death; to remove the old. Both of these should be accepted as natural in human life, even when combined with each other.

   Comment by Dave [Visitor] — 11/06/06 @ 17:24

   
   
3. Ironically, most of your comments are stronger evidence of this ad’s validity and even educational potential than of its obscenity.
   According to Hersch, author of Democratic Artworks, “…politics consists of the government’s attempts to make sure that individuals and groups pursuing their self-interests compete fairly.� You kindly volunteered an interesting point: that the ad originally ran in a print brochure for the Italian Film Festival. How can a nation whose cinematic achievements have pushed the boundaries of admissible levels of gore and sexuality for decades be criticized for running an ad that reflects these values? Any kind of censorship of such a work could fairly be deemed a violation of Italian film patrons’ right to pursue their self-interest and compete fairly. How can you advertise films that are historically rife with sex and violence without an equally controversial advertisement? In the context of the film festival, this ad is perfectly appropriate, and a legal expression of shared values within a society whose aesthetics, whether for good or ill, incorporate violent and sexual imagery to engage their audiences critically.
   You also label the ad (without qualification) as “disturbing and downright offensive�. It appears you are making the mistake of confusing the two words for synonyms. Hersch contends that “At their best, democratic artworks create a sense of discomfort and inner conflict that leads to a reconsideration of previously held views.� Perhaps he should have said that they should lead to a reconsideration of previously held views, but as exhibited by your reaction, there is a strong movement within the current political climate to label that which disturbs us “offensive�. By alleging obscenity, the obligation to dig deeper into a work and confront the societal truths it reflects is removed. As you demonstrate, it’s a lot easier to pretend that sex and violence don’t exist than to reflect on the role of the individual in a society that values these forms of expression so highly.
   Just some food for thought...

   Comment by Michael Bazanele [Visitor] — 01/25/07 @ 18:25

   
   

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