Creepy Advertising

This entry was written on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

Creepy advertisements are all around us - they are often confusing, disturbing and altogether ’scratch your head’-worthy.

Thanks to a post from Tornado Marketing about creepy advertisements that she found on http://www.weirdomatic.com/creepy-ads.html, I got to take a look at some of the creepiest advertisements in past decades. By far, the creepiest I saw was the Camel Cigarette ad using an Olympic Athlete as their spokesperson (showing above).

What this proved to me was what I thought all along: The advertising industry hasn’t really changed that much. Advertisements now are just as disturbing and creepy, albeit in different ways, but I don’t see much of a shift in the mentality. Ad creators still focus on creating something that is going to capture attention - and few things capture attention better than the strange and wrong. This is proven by the simple fact that we are still looking at these ads, decades after they were created.

What ad captures your attention the most? Are there any current ads that you think would qualify for this list?

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One Response to “Creepy Advertising”

  1. matt-mmwine says:

    I agree wholeheartedly, advertising often resorts to unconventional methods to sell, and I dont like it. Nothing creepy comes to mind right now, because frankly I’m very much TV adverse and don’t watch ANY shows. I do HATE the “Kaboom” guy, who now pitches 1,000 products, because he yells at me. I’m an educated man, you can talk to me and I can make a decision if I want your product. Shouting makes me want to .. well . not do nice things.

    Thanks for your honest look at a creative profession. Perhaps it’s the winds of change!

    Matt

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